^srie/ 


^l6uwenU^.Sf     vUufi™*a/ 


^^^&bfy/i^^ 


'2lniw*tf</  9z>a/t/om*'o> 


Text  Books  for  Colleges 
HARPER'S  PARALLEL  SOURCE  PROBLEMS 

Parallel  Source  Problems  in  Mediaeval  History. 
By  Frederic  Duncalf,  Ph.D.,  Adjunct  Professor,  Univer- 
sity of  Texas,  and  August  C.  Krey,  M.A.,  Instructor, 
University  of  Illinois. 

"  This  volume  has  grown  out  of  the  experience  of  two  of 
my  former  students.  .  .  .  The  apparatus  which  accom- 
panies the  sources  is  amply  sufficient  for  the  guidance  of 
either  teachers  or  students,  and  makes  it  possible  to  use 
this  work  in  private  study  or  in  correspondence  courses." — 
From  the  Introduction  by  Prof.  Dana  Carleton  Munroe. 

Source   Problems   on    the   French   Revolution.     By 

Dr.  Fred  Morrow  Fling,  Professor  of  History,  University 

of  Nebraska,  and  Helene  Dresser  Fling,  M.A. 

Like  the  first  volume  in  this  series  this  book  embodies  a 

new  point  of  view  in  the  teaching  of  history.     That  this  is 

certain  of  appreciation  is  indicated  by  the  prompt  adoption 

of  the  former  book  in  university  work,  and  also  by  the  fact 

that  instructors  who  have  been  made  acquainted  with  the 

plan  of  Professor  Fling's  book  on  the  French  Revolution  in 

the  Parallel  Sources  series  have  already  expressed  their 

desire   to  use   it  in   their   classes.      Each  $1.10,   School. 

(Others  in  preparation.) 

The    American    Nation:     A    History.     By    Associated 

Scholars.       Edited  by   Albert   Bushnell   Hart,   LL.D., 

Professor  of  Government  in  Harvard  University. 

A  few  of  the  universities  and  colleges  which  are  using 

volumes  of  "The  American  Nation"  in  class-room  work  are 

as  follows: — Yale,  Smith,  Iowa  State  College,  West  Virginia 

University,    Nebraska   State    Normal    School,    Princeton, 

Oberlin,    Indiana    University,    University    of    Mississippi, 

Baltimore  Polytechnic   Institute. 

27  volumes.     $2.00  net  per  volume;    if  bought  in  groups, 
$1.80  per  volume 
Circulars  on  application.     Correspondence  invited  re- 
garding these  and  other  books  for  college  use. 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS.  NEW  YORK 


harper's    parallel   sO.u^'cJEv.JKfc'ofex'.riMs , 

SOURCE  PROBLEMS 

ON  THE 

FRENCH   REVOLUTION 


BY 

FRED  MORROW  FLING,  Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  EUROPEAN  HISTORY 
IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEBRASKA 

AND 

HELENE  DRESSER  FLING,  M.A. 


HARPER    fcf    BROTHERS     PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK   AND   LONDON 

M  CMX  II  I 


:.::  ;. ..- ; 


V 


COPYRIGHT,    1913.    BY    HARPER   &    BROTHERS 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES   OF   AMERICA 
PUBLISHED   SEPTEMBER.    1913 


■T-HS 


w'JU^caL*   6  0*1 p.. 


I-N 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface vii 


I.  THE  OATH  OF  THE  TENNIS  COURT,  JUNE  20,  1789 

A.  The  Historic  Setting  of  the  Problem 3 

B.  Critical  Bibliography  of  the  Sources 12 

C.  Questions  for  Study 15 

D.  The  Sources 18 

1.  Prods-verbal  de  Vassemblee  nationale 18 

2.  Le  point  du  jour 23 

3.  Vassemblee  nationale 29 

4.  Bailly,  Memoires 37 

5.  Duquesnoy,  Journal 49 

6.  Young,  Arthur.     Travels  in  France 52 

7.  Mounier,  Recherches  sur  les  causes  qui  ont  emptche 

les  Francais  de  devenir  libres 55 

8.  Malouet,  Memoires 57 

9.  Biauzat,  Gaultier,  Vie  et  correspondance    ....  58 

10.  Rabaut  de  Saint-fitienne.     Precis  historique  de  la 

revolution  francaise 59 

11.  Dorset,  Despatches  from  Paris 61 

12.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance 62 

II.  THE  ROYAL  SESSION  OF  JUNE  23,  1789 

A.  The  Historic  Setting  of  the  Problem 67 

B.  Critical  Bibliography  of  the  Sources 71 

iii 


.•Contents 


PAGE 


C.  Questions  for  Study .     .     .         .     .  76 

D.  The  Sources 79 

1.  (a)  Necker,  Sur  V administration  de  M.  Necker  par 

lui-mlme 79 

(b)  Necker,  De  la  revolution  francaise     ....  84 

(c)  Necker,  Letter  to  Louis  XVI 88 

2.  Barentin,  Memoir e  autographe 88 

3.  Saint-Priest,  Letter  to  Louis  XVI 94 

4.  Montmorin,  Letter  to  the  King 95 

5.  Prods-verbal  de  Vassemblee  nationale     ....  96 

6.  Seance  tenue  par  le  roi  aux  Stats  generaux     ...  98 

7.  Le  point  de  jour 116 

8.  Vassemblee  nationale    .     .     .     .- 121 

9.  Courrier  de  Provence 124 

10.  Biauzat,  Correspondance 130 

11.  Bailly,  Memoires 134 

12.  Duquesnoy,  Journal 141 

13.  Jallet,  Journal 148 

14.  Stael-Holstein,  Correspondance 149 

15.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance 152 

16.  Jefferson,  Correspondence 155 

17.  Barante,  Lettres  et  instructions  de  Louis  XVIII.   .  159 

III.  THE  INSURRECTION  OF  OCTOBER  5  AND  6,  1789 

A.  The  Historic  Setting  of  the  Problem 163 

B.  Critical  Bibliography  of  the  Sources 171 

C.  Questions  for  Study 174 

D.  The  Sources 177 

1.  Prods-verbal  de  Vassemblee  nationale 177 

2.  Saint-Priest,  Abrege 182 

3.  Necker,  Be  la  revolution 185 

iv 


Contents 

PAGE 

4.  Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  Memoires 187 

5.  Procedure  criminelle 191 

6.  Salmour,  Comte  de,  Correspondance 235 

7.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance 246 

IV.  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  KING,  JUNE  20,  1791 

A.  The  Historic  Setting  of  the  Problem 251 

B.  Critical  Bibliography  of  the  Sources 262 

C.  Questions  for  Study 264 

D.  The  Sources 267 

1.  Prods-verbal  de  V assemblee  nationale 267 

2.  Rapport  du  sieu  Drouet 282 

3.  Extract  from  the  register  of  the  deliberations  of  the 

commune  of  Varennes 285 

4.  Examination  of  Maldent 289 

5.  Letter  of  the  Municipality  [of  Siante-Menehould] 

to  the  president  of  the  national  assembly  .     .  294 

6.  Prods-verbal  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  com- 

mune of  Varennes 295 

7.  Tourzel,  La  Duchesse  de,  Memoires 297 

8.  Relation  du  voyage  de  Varennes,  in  Memoires  de 

Weber 311 

Appendix 327 

Notes 337 


PREFACE 

THE  evolution  of  history  teaching  from  the  stage 
characterized  by  the  memorizing  of  a  text  to 
that  distinguished  by  a  critical  study  of  evidence 
forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  of  the 
pedagogic  history  of  the  past  twenty-five  years. 
The  steps  in  this  evolution  were:  (i)  The  addition 
of  "library  work,"  collateral  reading  in  secondary 
histories;  (2)  the  preparation  of  a  topic  based  upon 
secondary  works;  (3)  the  use  of  the  sources  as  col- 
lateral reading;  (4)  the  interpretation  of  documents 
and  narrative  sources,  little  or  no  attention  being 
paid  to  criticism,  namely,  to  localization,  evaluation, 
independence,  and  the  establishment  of  the  fact  by 
the  agreement  of  two  or  more  independent  affirma- 
tions. A  single  source  was  sufficient,  the  main  pur- 
pose in  dealing  with  narrative  sources  was  to  get 
the  contemporary  color  and  sentiment;  (5)  prepara- 
tion of  a  paper  based  indiscriminately  upon  sources 
and  secondary  works,  no  attempt  being  made  to 
distinguish  the  two  classes  of  material  or  to  use  the 
sources  critically;  (6)  finally,  a  study  based  upon 
a  collection  of  sources,  dealing  with  a  limited  topic 

vii 


Preface 

and  containing  two  or  more  affirmations  by  inde- 
pendent witnesses  to  the  same  fact.  Here  for  the 
first  time  history  teaching  had  reached  a  scientific 
basis.  The  use  of  collateral  secondary  reading,  al- 
though tending  to  break  up  the  practice  of  memor- 
izing and  to  give  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  topic 
studied,  supplied  neither  the  material  nor  the 
method  for  scientific  historical  training.  Later, 
the  reading  of  the  sources  supplied  the  material; 
but,  as  they  were  not  studied  intensively  and  criti- 
cally, nor  more  than  one  source  used  for  the  same 
fact,  the  indispensable  method  was  still  lacking. 
Nor  could  the  preparation  of  a  paper,  even  when 
based  upon  sources  and  secondary  works,  yield  that 
discipline  so  long  as  the  primary  importance  of  the 
sources  and  the  fundamental  character  of  source 
criticism  were  not  understood  or  were  not  made  a 
vital  part  of  historical  instruction.  Up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  the  chief  aim — practically  the  only  aim — 
of  the  instructor  has  been  to  interest  the  pupil  and 
to  aid  him  in  obtaining  historical  information.  This 
certainly  is  important,  always  will  be  important,  but 
it  cannot  be  the  sole  aim  of  history  teaching.  Should 
not  an  educated  man  or  woman  know  something  of 
the  process  by  which  historical  truth  is  distin- 
guished from  fable  or  falsehood?  Should  they  not 
understand  something  of  the  logic  that  underlies 
historical  synthesis  and  justifies  a  synthesis  in  history 
different  from  that  in  the  natural  sciences?     Should 

viii 


Preface 

they  not  know  that  history,  unique  evolution,  can- 
not repeat  itself,  and  that  historical  laws — the  terms 
are  contradictory,  law  implying  repetition — are  im- 
possible ?  There  are  cogent  reasons,  it  has  long 
seemed  to  me,  for  answering  all  of  these  questions 
in  the  affirmative. 

How,  then,  shall  these  things  be  taught?  By 
putting  into  the  hands  of  the  pupil  a  collection  of 
sources,  dealing  with  a  limited  topic,  containing 
parallel  accounts  of  the  same  facts  and  making  this 
material  the  basis  for  classroom  instruction  in  his- 
torical method.  These  studies  should  take  the  place 
of  the  semester's  paper;  they  will  do  what  the 
semester's  paper,  as  now  written,  cannot  do — namely, 
acquaint  the  pupil  in  a  practical  way  with  the  critical 
historical  process  and  awaken  and  develop  the  criti- 
cal faculty.  It  is  laboratory  work  in  history,  and 
has  the  same  justification  as  laboratory  work  in  the 
natural  sciences.  The  justification  of  laboratory 
work  in  the  natural  sciences  is  not  found  in  the 
amount  of  information  acquired,  but  in  the  training 
in  the  process  by  which  we  attain  to  truth.  The 
same  justification  is  found  for  the  study  of  mathe- 
matics. It  will  hardly  be  maintained  that  the 
justification  for  teaching  the  historical  process  is 
not  as  great,  even  greater,  than  for  teaching  the 
processes  in  natural  science.  Every  day  and  every 
hour  we  are  all  of  us  called  upon  to  pass  upon  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  historical  facts  and  to  act  upon 

ix 


Preface 

our  judgments.  We  use  the  process,  but  we  use  it 
unconsciously  and  to  little  purpose.  To  those  who 
recall  the  notorious  Dr.  Cook  and  the  extent  to 
which  he  fooled  a  credulous  public,  even  an  educated 
public,  nothing  more  need  be  said  of  the  necessity 
of  training  our  boys  and  girls  in  the  method  of  his- 
torical proof. 

But,  it  has  been  objected,  the  process  cannot  be 
taught  to  boys  and  girls  of  high-school  age  or  even 
of  college  age ;  it  should  be  reserved  for  the  graduate 
school.  "The  proof  of  the  pudding  is  the  eating." 
The  thing  can  be  done,  because  it  has  been  done. 
The  work  may  even  begin  in  the  grammar  school.  It 
may  begin  just  as  soon  as  the  boy  or  girl  is  desirous 
of  knowing  "if  it  is  true"  and  "how  do  we  know 
that  it  is  true."  That  is,  it  may  be  begun  if  we 
know  how  to  begin  it.  The  great  obstacle  to-day  to 
the  improving  of  history  teaching  is  that  the  most 
of  the  teachers — even  some  of  the  college  teachers — 
are  not  acquainted  with  the  method  and  do  not 
know  how  to  teach  it.  What  would  we  think  of  a 
science  teacher  who  could  not  prove  by  experiment 
that  water  is  composed  of  two  gases,  hydrogen  and 
oxygen,  in  the  proportion  of  two  to  one  ?  How  many 
history  teachers  could  prove  any  of  the  thousands 
of  facts  taught  each  day  in  the  classroom?  Why 
should  this  ignorance  be  tolerated  in  the  one  case 
and  not  in  the  other?  If  the  teacher  is  capable  of 
teaching  the  method,  of  adapting  it  to  the  different 


Preface 

stages  of  mental  growth  in  the  classes  taught,  there 
will  be  no  lack  of  interest  nor  ability  to  apply  it 
noticeable  among  the  pupils. 

In  my  own  work  I  have  given  one  classroom  hour 
a  week  out  of  three  to  intensive  work.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  class  give  two  hours  each  week  to  prep- 
aration, and  the  work  is  examined  each  week.  In 
the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  brief  outline  of  his- 
torical method,  and  an  illustration  of  its  application. 
It  is  a  reproduction  of  a  pamphlet  I  put  into  the 
hands  of  my  class.  In  an  opening  exercise  I  ex- 
plain the  outline  to  them,  and  they  are  afterward 
quizzed  upon  it.  The  subject  matter  of  the  topical 
study  is  then  taken  up  and  the  problem  set  for  them. 
In  chronological  order,  what  is  the  first  group  of 
facts  to  be  determined?  How  many  of  the  sources 
contain  any  information  upon  these  facts,  and  what 
is  this  information  ?  These  questions  being  answered 
in  writing,  the  next  questions  are  "What  is  the  value 
of  these  sources"  and  "Are  they  independent?" 
The  class  exercise  is  devoted  to  the  explanation  of 
the  illustration  of  criticism  found  in  the  Appendix, 
and  the  class  is  requested  to  work  it  over.  Then 
follows  the  assignment  of  the  other  sources,  one  or 
more — depending  on  difficulty — being  assigned  for 
an  exercise.  Each  source  is  criticized  independently, 
and  then  an  exercise  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  in- 
dependence. After  the  criticism  of  the  sources  and 
the  study  of   their    relationship  the  pupil  is  in  a 

xi 


Preface 

position  to  compare  the  different  affirmations  and 
to  establish  the  facts.  The  affirmations  treating  of 
the  same  fact  are  brought  together  on  the  same  page, 
compared,  and  a  conclusion  reached  as  to  whether 
the  evidence  gives  certainty  or  probability,  and  the 
conclusion  is  written  down.  When  the  facts  for 
the  first  topic  have  been  established,  the  class  is 
given  a  talk  on  synthesis  and  required  to  outline 
the  data  they  have  secured,  inserting  references  in 
the  margin.  The  outline  completed,  the  writing  of 
the  narrative  and  notes  is  explained  and  illustrated 
and  the  instructions  are  utilized  in  writing  a  narrative 
based  on  the  outline.  The  class  is  taught  how  to 
make  the  narrative  reflect  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  sources. 

Very  important  indirect  benefits  are  derived  from 
this  training:  (i)  The  pupil  is  taught  that  knowledge 
grows  and  certainty  is  attained  through  question 
and  answer,  and  that  the  questioning  must  go  on 
until  no  more  questions  can  be  asked  or  answered; 
(2)  the  application  of  this  theory  develops  scientific 
skepticism  and  plays  havoc  with  credulity.  The 
pupil  demands  proof  and  begins  to  understand  what 
the  word  means;  (3)  he  learns  how  difficult  it  is  to 
arrive  at  certainty  and  he  becomes  conscious  and 
cautious  in  his  own  affirmations ;  (4)  a  high  standard 
is  set  in  the  organization  of  knowledge  and  in  the 
careful  formulation  of  it,  that  the  statement  may 
correspond  to  the  evidence;   (5)  finally,  the  practical 

xii 


Preface 

training  in  historical  proof  supplies  the  pupil  with 
the  means  of  distinguishing  between  good  and  bad, 
scientific  and  popular  secondary  works.  One  who 
has  had  a  good,  stiff  course  in  historical  proof  will 
have  no  great  difficulty  in  evaluating  correctly  the 
life  of  Napoleon  by  Watson  and  the  same  life  written 
by  Fournier. 

The  intensive  critical  study  does  not  in  any  sense 
render  antiquated  the  short  narrative  text,  col- 
lateral readings  in  secondary  works  and  sources,  or 
the  use  of  any  other  scholarly  means  of  acquiring 
knowledge  of  historical  data;  it  makes  it  possible 
to  use  them  more  safely  and  more  effectively. 

The  translation  of  the  sources  fell,  as  usual,  to 
Mrs.  Fling.  The  shortness  of  the  time  allowed  for 
the  completion  of  the  work  did  not  permit  her, 
unfortunately,  to  extend  her  collaboration  to  the 
sources  of  the  last  problem.  The  acknowledgment 
of  her  important  share  in  the  preparation  of  the 
volume  is  a  most  grateful  task  and  a  fitting  close 
to  this  preface. 

Fred  Morrow  Fling. 

The  University  of  Nebraska, 
May  25,  1913. 


PROBLEM    I 

I. — The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 


PARALLEL   SOURCE    PROBLEMS 
ON  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION 

The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

A.   THE   HISTORIC   SETTING  OF  THE   PROBLEM 

THE  French  Revolution  may  be  characterized  in  a 
general  way  as  a  struggle  against  arbitrary  govern- 
ment and  privilege.  As  a  revolt  against  arbitrary  gov- 
ernment, it  united  all  classes  in  France  against  the  abso- 
lute monarchy;  as  an  attack  upon  privileges,  it  divided 
France  into  two  hostile  camps — the  clergy  and  nobility, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  rest  of  the  nation  on  the  other. 
Class  rivalry  did  not  manifest  itself  until  the  united  at- 
tack of  the  three  orders  had  forced  Louis  XVI.  to  summon 
the  states  general. 

The  parliament  of  Paris  was  the  leader  of  the  revolt 
against  arbitrary  government.  The  peculiar  right  it  pos- 
sessed of  remonstrating  against  the  inscription  upon  its 
register  of  royal  edicts  in  reality  associated  it  with  the 
king  in  the  work  of  legislation.  The  practice  of  the  parlia- 
ment of  amending,  and  even  of  vetoing,  the  royal  edicts 
presented  to  it  was  looked  upon  by  the  king  and  his 
ministers  as  an  encroachment  upon  royal  authority;  the 
king  was  supposed  to  be  the  sole  legislator.    The  parlia- 

3 


7. : :/:  :•:  0^3  .?rehch  Revolution 

ment  refused  to  subscribe  to  this  political  dogma,  and,  al- 
though in  no  sense  a  representative  body,  it  aspired  to 
play  the  rdle  of  the  English  parliament,  and  to  limit  the 
power  of  the  crown  in  the  interest  of  the  aristocracy.  In 
June,  1787,  posing  as  a  defender  of  the  interests  of  the 
common  people,  it  resisted  an  increase  of  taxes  and  re- 
fused to  register  new  tax  edicts  until  it  had  been  con- 
vinced by  a  statement  of  receipts  and  expenses  that  it  was 
impossible  for  the  government  to  escape  from  the  financial 
straits  in  which  it  found  itself  by  a  resort  to  thorough 
economy.  When  the  government  insisted,  and  its  need 
was  evident,  the  parliament  avoided  registration  and  in- 
creased taxes  by  declaring  that  the  states  general,  com- 
posed of  the  representatives  of  all  France,  alone  had  the 
right  to  grant  new  taxes,  and  the  king  was  invited  to  call 
that  body  together.  The  king  had  no  desire  to  convoke 
the  states  general,  fearing  a  limitation  of  his  power;  the 
parliament,  it  would  appear,  used  the  idea  of  a  convocation 
of  the  states  general  as  a  means  of  escaping  the  necessity 
of  registering  tax  edicts  which  would  have  diminished 
their  own  revenues.  If  the  parliament  really  desired  the 
calling  of  the  estates,  it  was  in  the  old  form  which  would 
have  enabled  them  to  play  a  leading  r61e  in  the  assembly, 
and  to  increase  the  authority  of  the  privileged  classes  at 
the  expense  of  the  monarchy.  The  king  enforced  the 
registration  of  the  tax  edicts  in  a  lit  de  justice,  but  the 
parliament  refused  to  recognize  this  act  as  legal  and  the 
whole  parliament  was  exiled  to  Troyes.  This  did  not  give 
permanent  relief  to  the  royal  treasury,  and  a  compromise 
was  effected,  the  parliament  agreeing  to  the  continuance 
of  a  tax  which  was  about  to  expire,  and  the  king  consent- 
ing to  recall  the  new  tax  edicts.  This  gave  the  king 
breathing  space  and  enabled  him  to  enter  into  negotia- 
tions with  some  of  the  members  of  the  parliament  for  the 

4 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  -Court 

registration  of  a  large  loan,  to  extend  over  several  years, 
which  would  enable  the  government  to  put  its  house  in 
order.  In  return  for  the  favor  of  registration  the  minis- 
try evidently  promised  to  call  the  states  general.  In  the 
royal  session  held  for  the  registration  of  the  loans  the 
government  presented  a  program  which  contained  no 
satisfactory  statement  touching  the  meeting  of  the  states 
general.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  parliament  appealed 
to  the  king  to  set  an  early  date  for  the  estates,  but  he 
made  no  response,  and  the  session  ended  with  the  regis- 
tration of  the  edicts  according  to  the  forms  of  a  lit  de 
justice.  The  parliament  protested,  and  some  of  its  mem- 
bers were  exiled  or  imprisoned. 

This  was  in  November,  1787.  The  parliament  had 
stirred  up  the  nation  by  its  call  for  the  states  general,  but 
it  showed  no  desire  to  press  the  matter.  There  was 
strife  between  the  king  and  the  parliament  from  November, 
1787,  to  August,  1788;  but  the  point  at  issue  was  not  the 
calling  of  the  estates.  The  parliament  presented  petition 
after  petition  to  the  king  asking  the  release  of  its  members 
and  protesting  against  the  use  of  lettres  de  cachet.  The 
king  did  not  yield;  he  even  prepared  to  escape  from  the 
tutelage  of  the  parliaments  by  reorganizing  them  and  de- 
priving them  of  the  right  to  register  edicts.  This  power 
was  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  body  called  the  cour 
pleniere  the  members  of  which  were  to  be  appointed 
by  the  king.  The  reorganization  of  the  parliament  was 
coupled  with  an  excellent  program  of  judicial  reform.  In 
May,  1788,  the  government  held  lits  de  justice  in  all  the 
parliaments  of  the  kingdom  for  the  purpose  of  registering 
the  reform  edicts.  The  resistance  of  all  classes  was  so 
pronounced — the  parliaments  being  looked  upon  as  the 
last  bulwark  against  despotism — that,  although  the  regis- 
tration was  effected,  the  reform  of  the  courts  was  not 
2  5 


.  . .  .. ...  ...-Thej  French  Revolution 

*•.::•*  :.V:V  *::•.:••••.••• 

successfully  carried  out,  nor  did  the  cour  pleniere  ever 

become  active.  In  the  summer  of  1788  it  was  clear  to 
keen  observers  that  France  was  in  the  midst  of  a  crisis, 
and  that  the  convocation  of  the  estates,  demanded  by  all 
classes,  could  not  be  avoided.  The  treasury  was  almost 
empty,  credit  was  declining,  and  the  minister  of  finance, 
by  an  unwise  measure,  precipitated  a  financial  crisis. 
The  king  yielded  to  the  inevitable  by  promising  the  es- 
tates for  May,  1789. 

With  the  definite  promise  of  a  national  assembly  for 
1789,  the  struggle  against  arbitrary  power  had  ended 
in  a  great  victory;  it  was  said  that  by  yielding  to  this 
demand  the  king  had  abdicated.  But  who  was  to  profit 
by  the  victory  ?  The  organization  of  the  estates  would  be 
the  answer  to  that  question.  France  could  be  reformed, 
privileges  abolished  only  in  a  single  assembly  governed 
by  majority  rule,  an  assembly  in  which  the  third  estate 
had  a  representation  equal  at  least  to  that  of  the  clergy 
and  nobility  combined.  The  questions  of  the  double 
representation  for  the  third  estate  and  the  vote  by  head, 
instead  of  by  order,  divided  France  into  two  hostile 
camps.  They  were  discussed  in  the  press  with  ever- 
growing bitterness,  and  in  some  of  the  provinces  the 
parties  even  came  to  blows.  What  attitude  would  the 
government  take  toward  the  questions?  Necker  had 
been  recalled,  but  showed  no  inclination  to  lose  his  popu- 
larity with  one  group  by  deciding  in  favor  of  its  opponents. 
He  hoped  to  save  himself  by  throwing  the  responsibility 
of  making  a  decision  upon  some  one  else.  The  edicts  of 
May  were  withdrawn,  the  parliaments  recalled  in  Septem- 
ber, and  the  edict  summoning  the  estates  in  1789  was 
laid  before  the  parliament  of  Paris  for  registration.  In 
transcribing  it  upon  its  registers  the  parliament  declared 
itself  in  favor  of  estates  organized  in  the  form  of  1614 — 

6 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

that  is  to  say,  it  opposed  double  representation  for  the 
third  estate  and  .vote  by  head.  The  other  parliaments  of 
France  took  the  same  view.  Their  popularity  vanished 
as  if  by  magic. 

The  form  of  1614  was  not  satisfactory  to  Necker.  He 
hoped  for  a  compromise  between  the  views  of  the  third 
estate  and  of  the  two  other  orders.  The  estates,  he  be- 
lieved, should  be  made  up  of  representatives  of  the  three 
orders,  with  double  representation  for  the  third  estate. 
In  dealing  with  questions  of  finance  and  of  general  in- 
terest the  representatives  should  sit  in  a  single  assembly 
and  the  majority  should  rule ;  in  other  cases  there  should 
be  three  assemblies,  and  each  should  have  the  power  to 
veto  the  acts  of  the  others.  Hoping  to  get  support  for 
this  view,  he  summoned,  in  November,  1788,  the  old 
assembly  of  the  nobles  called  into  existence  the  preceding 
year  by  Calonne.  The  assembly  sat  for  several  weeks, 
and  finally  decided  against  double  representation  and  vote 
by  head.  Before,  however,  this  decision  had  been  reached 
the  parliament  of  Paris  had  attempted  to  regain  its  popu- 
larity by  interpreting  its  action  of  September.  It  de- 
clared that  the  number  of  representatives  of  the  different 
orders  had  never  been  definitely  fixed,  and  even  if  double 
representation  were  granted  to  the  third  estate  the  con- 
stitution would  not  be  changed  so  long  as  the  three  es- 
tates sat  in  different  halls  and  each  possessed  the  veto 
power.  That  the  double  representation  without  the 
single  assembly  was  valueless  and  harmless  was  under- 
stood by  the  leaders  of  the  third  estate  from  the  very 
outset.  The  parliament  gained  nothing  by  its  action.  It 
was  asserted  that  the  action  of  the  parliament  was  due  to 
the  influence  of  Necker,  trying  to  find  support  in  some 
group  for  the  course  he  had  decided  to  follow.  Decem- 
ber 27,  1788,  the  king  in  council,  on  the  recommendation 

7 


The  French   Revolution 

of  Necker,  declared  in  favor  of  double  representation  for 
the  third  estate,  but  left  the  question  of  vote  by  head  in 
suspense.  The  first  bitter  struggle  of  the  revolution  was 
to  center  around  this  important  question. 

In  the  instructions  given  to  the  representatives  to  the 
estates  by  their  constituents  it  is  easy  to  see  how  clearly 
the  deep  significance  of  the  issue  was  understood;  a  single 
assembly  meant  the  reformation  of  France,  three  assem- 
blies the  preservation  of  the  ancien  regime.  The  great 
mass  of  the  deputies  of  the  third  estate  were  instructed 
to  sit  only  in  a  single  assembly  and  vote  by  head;  the 
great  majority  of  the  clergy  and  nobility  were  instructed 
not  to  sit  in  a  single  assembly  and  not  to  vote  by  head. 
At  the  opening  of  the  estates  on  May  5,  1789,  neither  the 
king  nor  his  two  ministers — one  of  them  Necker — uttered 
anything  definite  on  the  vexed  question.  Even  in  the 
matter  of  the  verification  of  the  credentials  of  the  deputies 
the  government  took  no  action,  leaving  the  whole  problem 
to  the  deputies  themselves.  It  proved  to  be  an  apple  of 
discord. 

For  more  than  five  weeks  the  question  of  how  shall  the 
credentials  of  the  estates  be  verified  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  France.  Why  did  the  discord  break  out  over  a 
matter  so  trivial  in  appearance?  Both  parties,  those 
favoring  a  single  assembly  and  those  advocating  the  old 
form  with  three,  looked  upon  the  form  of  verification  as 
fundamentally  important;  the  settlement  of  that  ques- 
tion might  at  the  same  time  dispose  of  the  larger  ques- 
tion lying  back  of  it.  Verification  of  all  the  credentials 
in  a  single  assembly  would  be  a  victory  for  the  third 
estate,  and  would  create  a  precedent  in  favor  of  a  per- 
manent single  legislative  body.  If  the  deputies  once  sat 
together  in  a  single  hall,  it  was  feared  they  could  not  be 
separated  again  into  three  chambers.    The  question  of 

8 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

the  verification  of  credentials,  then,  meant  a  preliminary 
skirmish  for  position,  which  might  decide  the  fate  of  the 
great  battle.  The  nobility  verified  its  own  credentials  and 
organized  as  a  separate  body,  a  chamber  of  the  estates; 
the  cbrgy  began  to  verify  its  credentials,  but  when  it 
learned  that  the  third  estate  was  doing  nothing,  showed 
a  readiness  to  negotiate;  the  third  estate  did  not  organ- 
ize, but  waited  for  the  other  orders  to  join  them  for  com- 
mon verification,  even  invited  them  informally  to  do  so. 
The  clergy  replied  by  proposing  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  composed  of  members  of  the  three  orders  to 
consider  in  a  conference  the  matter  in  dispute.  This 
proposition  was  finally  accepted  by  both  the  other  orders, 
although  there  was  little  possibility  of  any  good  coming 
from  such  discussions.  The  nobility  entered  the  confer- 
ence insisting  that  they  were  organized  as  an  indepen- 
dent chamber;  and  the  commons,  as  the  third  estate  called 
themselves,  instructed  their  delegates  to  discuss  nothing 
but  the  verification  of  credentials.  The  discussion  in  the 
conferences,  conducted  chiefly  by  the  nobility  and  com-, 
mons,  was  fruitless.  Both  sides  realized  the  greatness 
of  the  interests  at  stake,  and  would  make  no  concessions. 
The  conferences  ended,  and  the  commons  appealed  to  the 
clergy,  "in  the  name  of  the  God  of  peace,"  to  bring  their 
credentials  into  the  common  hall.  The  majority  of  the 
clergy  would  doubtless  have  accepted  this  invitation 
had  not  the  king  been  induced  to  interfere  and  to  ask 
for  a  renewal  of  the  conferences  in  the  presence  of  his 
ministers.  The  conferences  were  renewed,  and  after 
several  meetings,  in  which  the  nobility  and  the  commons 
repeated  their  old  arguments,  Necker  presented  a  plan 
for  verification  which  recognized  the  existence  of  the 
separate  chambers  and  paved  the  way  for  the  adoption 
of  his  plan  of  general  and  separate  assemblies.     The  plan 

9 


The  French   Revolution 

was  accepted  by  the  clergy,  but  such  restrictions  were 
made  by  the  nobility  that  it  was  practically  nullified. 
The  commons  took  advantage  of  this  situation  to  escape 
the  necessity  of  expressing  their  opinion.  The  plan  never 
had  any  chance  of  success  and  was  never  debated. 

For  several  days  before  the  second  series  of  conferences 
closed  it  was  evident  that  the  commons  were  preparing 
to  act.  They  introduced  enough  organization  into  their 
assembly  to  make  it  possible  for  them  to  act  as  a  deliber- 
ative body.  On  June  ioth  they  voted  to  summon  the 
clergy  and  the  nobility  to  bring  their  credentials  at  once 
into  the  common  hall  for  verification,  and  announced  their 
intention  of  proceeding  with  the  verification  if  the  other 
deputies  did  not  appear.  The  summons  was  delivered  on 
the  twelfth — the  eleventh  being  a  holiday — and  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  roll  call  of  deputies  began 
in  the  general  hall.  The  names  of  the  clergy  and  nobility 
were  read,  and  when  they  failed  to  respond  they  were 
treated  as  absent.  On  the  morning  of  June  15th  the  roll 
call  had  been  finished,  the  credentials  had  been  exam- 
ined and  favorably  reported  upon. 

The  next  question  for  the  commons  to  consider  was 
what  they  should  call  themselves?  Were  they  the  states 
general?  That  could  hardly  be  true  in  the  absence  of  the 
other  two  estates.  Some  expression  must  be  found  that 
would  enable  the  commons  to  organize  as  the  majority 
of  the  deputies  representing  the  nation,  but  which  at 
the  same  time  would  be  elastic  enough  to  embrace  the 
deputies  of  the  other  two  orders  when  they  finally  joined 
the  third  estate.  Several  such  titles  were  proposed,  and 
for  two  days,  in  the  presence  of  crowded  galleries,  the 
commons  engaged  in  one  of  the  most  important  debates 
of  the  early  revolution.  The  title  national  assembly  was 
proposed,  but  attracted  little  attention  at  the  outset. 

10 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

When  Sieyes,  who  had  advocated  a  more  conservative 
title,  adopted  the  shorter  and  more  revolutionary  one, 
its  success  was  assured.  On  the  morning  of  June  17th 
the  commons  declared  themselves  the  national  assembly. 
It  was  the  first  revolutionary  step.  It  was  a  declaration 
of  the  existence  of  a  single  assembly,  made  up  of  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  French  people,  without  distinction 
of  order,  having  the  right  to  make  a  constitution  for 
France,  and  recognizing  the  existence  of  no  veto  power 
between  it  and  the  king.  If  this  act  were  allowed  to  go 
unchallenged,  the  old  constitution,  with  its  political  and 
civil  inequalities,  was  doomed.  The  representatives  of 
the  middle  class  would  sweep  away  the  ancien  regime  and 
create  a  new  France. 

The  king  could  not  look  with  unconcern  upon  this  bold 
act  of  the  commons.  The  assumption  of  the  "power  to 
make  a  constitution  threatened  not  only  the  privileges  of 
the  clergy  and  nobility,  but  his  own  unrestricted  authority. 
In  the  presence  of  a  common  danger  the  monarchy  and 
the  privileged  classes  drew  near  to  each  other.  Urged  on 
by  the  court,  the  parliaments,  the  clergy,  and  the  nobility, 
the  ministry  decided  to  abandon  its  policy  of  inaction,  to 
gather  up  the  reins  which  were  slipping  from  its  grasp, 
and  to  save  the  old  constitution.  A  royal  session  of  the 
estates  should  be  held,  and  the  king  should  announce  his 
wishes.  But  what  were  these  wishes?  Should  Louis 
XVI.  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  commons  and  be- 
come the  king  of  the  revolution?  Should  he  annul  the 
action  of  the  commons  and  defend  the  ancien  regime  as 
a  whole?  Or,  while  annulling  the  action  of  June  17th, 
should  he  propose  a  reform  program,  representing  the 
policy  of  his  reign  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  estates  ? 
The  plan  proposed  by  Necker  was  opposed  by  some  of 
the  ministers.    On  the  same  day  that  Necker  presented 

u 


The  French  Revolution 

his  plan  the  majority  of  the  clergy  voted  to  verify  their 
credentials  in  common  with  the  third  estate.  Unless 
something  were  done,  the  union  of  the  clergy  with  the 
commons  would  take  place  the  next  day,  and  a  situation 
would  be  created  far  more  difficult  for  the  government  'to 
deal  with  than  that  resulting  from  the  vote  of  June  17th. 
The  ministers  decided  to  prevent  the  union  by  closing  the 
hall  and  suspending  the  estates  until  the  royal  session"  of 
June  2 2d.  This  action  on  the  part  of  the  government 
led  the  commons,  on  June  20th,  to  take  the  famous 
"Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court." 


B.    CRITICAL   BIBLIOGRAPHY 

i.  Proces-verbal  de  Vassemblee  nationale.  Paris,  1789. 
This  is  the  official  minutes  of  the  assembly,  written  by 
the  secretaries  of  the  assembly,  read  before  the  assembly 
for  correction,  and  printed  by  the  official  printer.  The 
official  manuscript  account  from  which  the  printed  account 
was  taken  is  in  the  national  archives  in  Paris.  It  is  in 
the  handwriting  of  Camus. 

2.  Le  point  du  jour.  This  was  a  daily  edited  by  Bar&re, 
a  member  of  the  third  estate.  It  contained  nothing  but 
an  account  of  the  debates  of  the  assembly,  an  account 
without  comment,  full  of  detail,  and  remarkably  free  from 
prejudice.  Barere  was  born  in  1755,  was  a  practising 
lawyer  at  the  bar  of  Bordeaux  before  1789,  and  was 
elected  deputy  to  the  national  assembly  from  Bigorre. 

3.  Vassemblee  nationale.  This  paper  was  a  daily 
written  by  Lehodey,  a  professional  journalist.  Its  name 
changed  several  times,  the  first  numbers  bearing  the  title 
of  the  Etats-generaux.  It  contained  little  but  the  debates 
of  the  assembly.    The  accounts  of  the  debates  were  full, 

12 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

but  there  was  considerable  comment,  and  it  was  not  diffi- 
cult to  tell  what  the  sentiments  of  Lehodey  were. 

4.  Bailly,  Memoires,  3  vols.,  Paris,  1804.  Bailly  was 
born  in  Paris  in  1736.  He  was  already  celebrated  as  an 
astronomer  and  a  member  of  the  three  French  academies 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  states  general  by  the  third 
estate  of  Paris.  He  was  president  of  the  national  assem- 
bly on  June  20th.  His  Memoires,  describing  the  events  of 
1789,  were  written  in  1792,  between  January  and  June, 
while  he  was  residing  at  his  country  place  near  Nantes. 
The  original  manuscript,  in  Bailly's  handwriting,  is  in 
the  library  of  the  chamber  of  deputies  in  Paris. 

5.  Duquesnoy,  Journal,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1894.  This  work 
is  not  a  journal,  but  a  series  of  letters,  or  bulletins,  written 
by  Duquesnoy  to  his  constituents.  Duquesnoy,  born  in 
1759,  represented  the  third  estate  of  Bar-le-Duc.  The 
manuscript  from  which  the  two  volumes  were  printed — 
now  in  the  manuscript  section  of  the  national  library  in 
Paris — was  not  in  the  handwriting  of  Duquesnoy,  but 
there  is  sufficient  internal  evidence  to  prove  conclusively 
that  he  was  the  author  of  the  bulletins. 

6.  Young,  Arthur,  Travels  in  France,  fourth  edition, 
London,  1892.  Arthur  Young,  the  English  agriculturist, 
born  in  1741,  made  three  journeys  across  France,  the  last 
in  1789.  In  June,  1789,  he  was  in  Paris,  watching  the 
revolution  with  the  deepest  interest  and  making  notes 
in  his  journal.  He  was  a  well-informed  man,  used  the 
French  language  well,  and  was  in  social  touch  with  all 
the  distinguished  Frenchmen  of  his  day. 

7.  Mounier,  Recherches  sur  les  causes  qui  ont  empeche 
les  Francois  de  devenir  libres,  2  vols.,  Geneva,  1792. 
Mounier  was  a  member  of  the  third  estate  from  Dauphine. 
He  was  born  at  Grenoble  in  1758,  was  an  advocate  at  the 
bar  of  his  native  city,  and  later  a  judge  royal.     He  had 

13 


The  French  Revolution 

been  a  leader  in  the  revolution  in  the  Dauphine"  in  1788. 
His  pamphlets  on  the  organization  of  the  states  general 
made  him  famous  throughout  France.  When  the  assem- 
bly followed  the  king  to  Paris  in  October,  Mounier,  feel- 
ing that  the  assembly  had  gone  too  far  in  depriving  the 
king  of  his  power,  retired  to  Dauphine  and  tried  to  call 
the  provincial  estates  together  to  protest  against  the  ac- 
tion of  the  national  assembly.  When  this  action  was  pro- 
hibited by  the  assembly,  he  left  France  for  Switzerland, 
and  there  wrote  the  work  from  which  the  extract  was 
taken.  It  was  a  description  and  criticism  of  the  revo- 
lution up  to  the  time  of  writing.  In  June,  1789,  he  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  third  estate  at 
Versailles. 

8.  Malouet,  Memoires,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1868.  Malouet 
was  born  in  1740,  and  had  passed  the  most  of  his  life  in 
the  government  service.  He  was  intendant  of  marine 
in  1788.  In  1789  he  was  elected  to  the  national  assembly 
by  the  third  estate  of  Riom.  He  was  a  conservative,  and 
on  account  of  his  position  as  a  government  official  was 
suspected  of  acting  in  the  interest  of  the  ministry,  and 
was  distrusted  by  the  liberal  members  of  the  assembly. 
Malouet  wrote  his  Memoires  in  1808,  six  years  before  his 
death. 

9.  Biauzat,  Vie  et  correspondence,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1890. 
Gaultier  de  Biauzat  was  born  in  1739.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  bar  of  Clermont-Ferrand,  and  in  1789  was  elected 
to  the  states  general  by  the  third  estate  of  Clermont. 
While  in  Versailles  he  wrote  letters  to  his  constituents. 
The  originals  are  found  in  the  library  of  Clermont. 

10.  Rabaut,  Precis  historique  de  la  revolution  /ran- 
caise,  Paris,  18 13.  Rabaut  de  Saint-Etienne  was  born  in 
1743.  A  protestant  pastor,  leader  of  the  French  protes- 
tants,  he  was  elected  to  the  states  general  by  the  third 

H 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

estate  of  Nimes.  His  Precis  was  written  in  the  latter 
part  of  I791- 

ii.  Dorset,  Despatches  from  Paris,  2  vols.,  London, 
1909,  1 9 10.  Dorset  was  the  English  ambassador  to 
France  in  1789.  The  original  despatches  from  which  this 
collection  was  made  are  found  in  the  Record  Office  in 
London. 

12.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance,  Paris,  1903.  The 
Bailli  de  Virieu  was  the  minister  of  Parma  to  the  court  of 
Versailles.  The  original  of  the  letters,  written  in  Italian,  to 
his  home  government,  are  found  in  the  archives  of  Parma. 
They  are  among  the  most  valuable  of  the  correspondence 
of  the  foreign  ministers  at  that  time  in  Paris.  The 
Marquis  de  Virieu,  in  1884,  copied  the  Italian  letters  in 
the  archives  of  Parma  and  made  a  French  translation  of 
them.  The  English  text  in  the  extract  given  below  is, 
then,  a  translation  of  a  French  translation  of  an  Italian 
original. 

C.   QUESTIONS   FOR  STUDY 

1.  How  many  of  the  writers  of  the  sources  contained  in  this 

study  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  events  they  de- 
scribed ? 

2.  How  many  of  the  sources  describing  the  events  of  June  20th 

at  Versailles  are  independent? 

3.  Upon  what  sources  are  the  dependent  ones  dependent? 

4.  Are  all  the  sources  in  this  study,  written  by  eye-witnesses, 

equally  valuable?  Give  the  reasons  for  thinking  some 
less  valuable  than  others. 

5.  Some  eye-witnesses  reproduce  the  accounts  of  other  eye- 

witnesses, thus  placing  their  stamp  of  approval  upon 
them.  Does  that  increase  the  value  of  these  accounts? 
Cite  cases  and  give  reasons. 

6.  Prove  that  there  were  two  sessions  of  the  national  assembly 

on  June  20th. 

15 


The  French  Revolution 

7.  When  and  where  was  the  Proces-verbal  of  the  first  session 

written? 

8.  Why  did  not  the  first  Proces-verbal  contain  copies  of  the 

letters  which  passed  between  Bailly  and  De  Breze? 

9.  For  what  hour  had  the  opening  of  the  session  of  the  twentieth 

been  fixed? 

10.  At  what  hour  did  it  open? 

11.  At  what  time  did  the  deputies  begin  to  gather  at  the 

hall? 

12.  At  what  hour  did  the  heralds  announce  the  suspension  of 

the  session?    What  two  forms  did  this  announcement 
take? 

13.  How  long  was  Bailly  in  conference  with  the  secretaries? 

What  inference  would  you  draw  from  this? 

14.  What  did  Bailly  mean  by  saying  he  had  "received  no  order 

from  the  king,"  when  he  had  just  received  orders  from 
the  grand  master  of  ceremonies? 

15.  Why  did  Bailly  not  answer  the  second  letter  of  De  Br6ze? 

16.  Where  was  the  first  session  of  the  twentieth  held,  how  long 

did  it  last,  and  what  was  done  in  the  session? 

17.  Why  was  the  situation  in  the  avenue  before  the  hall  a  seri- 

ous one  on  the  morning  of  the  twentieth  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock? 

18.  Why  were  the  members  of  the  assembly  so  disturbed  over 

the  closing  of  their  hall? 

19.  Why  did  they  take  an  oath? 

20.  What  was  the  significance  of  the  oath? 

21.  Why  did  the  members  take  the  oath  orally  and  also  sign 

their  names  to  documents  upon  which  the  oath  had 
been  transcribed? 

22.  Why  were  the  deputies  so  indignant  at  the  action  of  Martin 

d'Auch? 

23.  Is  the  Assemblee  nationale  right  in  saying  that  Guilhermy 

retired  without  signing? 

24.  What  proof  do  you  find  in  the  sources  that  the  deputies 

and  the  crowd  were  very  desirous  of  retaining  the  good 
will  of  the  king? 

16 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

25.  How  do  you  reconcile  such  an  attitude  with  the  taking  of 

the  oath? 

26.  Why  did  the  session  of  June  20th  last  so  long? 

27.  What  other  action  on  June  20th  proves  that  the  assembly 

intended  to  defend  its  decree  of  June  20th  even  against 
the  king? 

28.  What  did  contemporaries  think  of  the  action  of  June  20th 

and  its  probable  consequences? 

29.  Was  the  "Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court"  really  a  very  impor- 

tant act  in  the  history  of  the  revolution? 

30.  Establish  the  facts  for  June  20th,  make  a  synthesis,  citing 

the  proof,  and  write  a  narrative  with  notes. 


D.  The  Sources 

i.  Procds-verbal    de    VassembUe    nationale,    No.    J, 
Saturday,  June  20,  1789. 
At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  hour  indicated 
for  the  session  of  the  national  assembly,1  the  presi- 

s  dent  and  the  two  secretaries  presented  themselves 
at  the  door  of  the  principal  entrance;  they  found  it 
guarded  by  soldiers  and  saw  a  large  number  of 
deputies  who  could  not  enter.  The  president  asked 
for  the  officer  of  the  guard.     The  Comte  de  Vassan 

10  presented  himself  and  said  he  had  been  ordered  to 
prevent  any  one  from  entering  the  hall  on  ac- 
count of  preparations  which  were  being  made  for  a 
royal  session.  The  president  told  him  that  he 
protested   against   the   obstacles   put   in   the   way 

is  of  holding  the  session  fixed  yesterday  for  this 
hour,  and  he  declared  it  open.  The  Comte  de 
Vassan  having  added  that  he  was  authorized  to 
allow  the  officers  of  the  assembly  to  enter  to  get 
the  papers  they  might  need,  the  president  and  the 

20  1  At  the  close  of  the  Prods-verbal,  No.  2,  is  the  statement,  "The 
president  adjourned  the  session  until  to-morrow  at  eight  o'clock 
instead  of  nine."     Nine  was  the  regular  hour. 

18 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

secretaries  entered  and  saw  in  truth  that  the  most 
of  the  benches  in  the  hall  had  been  removed,  and 
that  all  the  passageways  were  guarded  by  a  large 
number  of  soldiers.  They  noticed  in  the  court  and 
s  on  the  outside  door  several  placards  conceived  in 
these  terms: 


THE    STATES    GENERAL.        BY    ORDER    OF    THE    KING 

"The  king  having  resolved  to  hold  a  royal  session 
of  the  states  general  on  Monday  the  2 2d  of  June, 

10  the  preparations  to  be  made  in  the  three  halls  which 
serve  for  the  meetings  of  the  orders  make  it  neces- 
sary to  suspend  these  meetings  until  after  the  hold- 
ing of  the  said  session.  His  Majesty  will  make 
known  by  a  fresh  proclamation  the  hour  at  which 

is  on  Monday  he  will  betake  himself  to  the  assembly 
of  the  estates.  Versailles,  at  the  Royal  Printing- 
house,  1789." 

The  president  and  the  two  secretaries  having  gone 
out,  they  betook  themselves  to  the  tennis  court  in 
20  Tennis  Court  Street,  where  the  members  of  the 
assembly  successively  gathered.  Signed:  Bailly, 
President;  Camus,  Secretary;  Pison  du  Galland,  Jr., 
Secretary. 

On  the  same  day  at  half  past  ten  in  the  morning, 

as  in  the  hall  of  the  tennis  court,  street  of  the  Tennis 

Court,  the  assembly  being  complete,  the  president 

19 


The  French   Revolution 

gave  an  account  of  two  letters  which  he  had  received 
this  morning  from  the  Marquis  de  Breze,   grand 
master  of  ceremonies.     The  first  is  of  the  following 
tenor : 
5  "Versailles,  June  20 ,   1789. 

"The  King  having  ordered  me,  Sir,  to  make  public 
by  heralds  his  intention  to  hold  on  Monday  the 
twenty-second  of  this  month  a  royal  session,  and  at 
the  same  time  his  purpose  to  suspend  the  assemblies, 

10  which  the  preparations  to  be  made  in  the  three  halls 
of  the  orders  render  necessary,  I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you  of  it.  I  am  with  respect,  Sir,  your  very 
humble  and  very  obedient  servant,  the  Marquis 
de  Breze. 

is  "  P.  S. — I  believe  it  would  be  well,  Sir,  if  you  would 
charge  the  secretaries  with  the  responsibility  of 
gathering  up  the  papers  for  fear  they  might  be  lost. 
Would  you  also,  Sir,  have  the  kindness  to  have  the 
names  of  the  secretaries  sent  to  me,  that  I  may  give 

20  instructions  permitting  them  to  enter,  the  necessity 
of  not  interrupting  the  task  of  the  workmen,  who 
have  no  time  to  spare,  not  making  it  possible  to  ad- 
mit everybody  to  the  halls.' ' 

The  president  said  he  had  replied  to  this  letter 
,25  in  the  following  terms: 

"I  have  not  yet  received  any  order  from  the  King, 
Sir,  for  the  royal  session,  nor  for  the  suspension  of 
the  assemblies;   and  it  is  my  duty  to  go  to  the 

20 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

one   I  set  for   this    morning   at  eight   o'clock.      I 
am,"  etc. 

In  reply  to  this  letter,  the  Marquis  de  Breze  wrote 
him  the  second,  the  tenor  of  which  is  as  follows: 

s  "Versailles,  June  20 ,  ijSg. 

"It  was  by  positive  orders  of  the  King  that  I  had 

the  honor  to  write  to  you  this  morning,  Sir,  and  to 

inform  you  that  His  Majesty,  wishing  to  hold  a 

royal  session  on  Monday,  which  calls  for  prepara- 

10  tions  in  the  three  assembly  halls  of  the  orders,  his 
intention  was  that  no  one  shall  be  allowed  to  enter 
there,  that  the  sessions  should  be  suspended  until 
after  the  one  His  Majesty  will  hold.  I  am  with 
respect,  Sir,  your  most  humble  and  most  obedient 

is  servant,  the  Marquis  de  Breze." 

After  the  reading  of  these  letters  the  president 
gave  an  account  of  the  facts  recorded  in  the  minutes 
of  this  day  and  had  the  minutes  read. 

The    assembly,   having    deliberated,  passed   the 
20  following   decree   by   a    unanimous  ,  vote,    lacking 
one: 

"The  national  assembly,  considering  itself  called  to 
establish  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom,  to  work 
for  the  regeneration  of  public  order,  and  to  maintain 
as  the  true  principles  of  the  monarchy,  cannot  be  pre- 
vented in  any  way  from  continuing  its  deliberations, 
in  whatever  place  it  may  be  forced  to  establish  it- 
3  21 


The  French   Revolution 

self,  and,  finally,  wherever  its  members  are  gathered, 
there  is  the  national  assembly; 

"  Resolves  that  all  the  members  of  this  assembly 
immediately  take  a  solemn  oath  never  to  separate, 

s  and  to  reassemble  wherever  circumstances  require, 
until  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  es- 
tablished and  fixed  on  solid  foundations;  and  that, 
the  said  oath  being  taken,  all  the  members  and  each 
one  of  them  in  particular,  shall  confirm  by  their 

io  signatures  this  unshakable  resolution." 

The  decree  having  been  read,  the  president  re- 
quested that  he  and  the  secretaries  might  take  the 
oath  first,  which  they  did  at  once;  thereupon  the 
assembly  took  the  same  oath  at  the  dictation  of  its 

is  president. 

The  president  having  reported  to  the  assembly 
that  the  Bureau  of  Verifications  had  been  unani- 
mously in  favor  of  the  provisional  admittance  of 
the  deputies  of   Saint- Domingo,   the  national  as- 

20  sembly  voted  that  the  said  deputies  should  be  ad- 
mitted provisionally,  for  which  they  expressed  their 
deep  appreciation.  Consequently,  they  took  the 
oath  and  were  admitted  to  sign  the  decree. 

The  taking  of  the  oath  was  followed  by  reiterated 

25  and  universal  cries  of  "Long  live  the  King!"  and 
at  once  the  roll  was  called  by  baillages,  senechaus- 
sees,  provinces,  and  cities,  in  alphabetical  order,  and 
each  of  the  members  present,  upon  responding  to 
the  call,  approached  the  desk  and  signed.  .  .  . 

22 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

[List  of  signers  follows  here.] 

After  the  deputies  had  affixed  their  signatures 
some  of  the  deputies  whose  credentials  had  not  yet 
been  verified  and  the  substitutes  presented  them- 
5  selves  and  requested  to  be  permitted  to  give  their 
adhesion  to  the  decree  passed  by  the  assembly  and 
to  affix  their  signatures  to  it.  This  having  been 
accorded  by  the  assembly,  they  signed.  .  .  . 

[List  of  signers  follows  here.] 
io  In  the  name  of  the  assembly,  the  president  noti- 
fied the  committee  on  food  supply  to  meet  to-mor- 
row at  the  lodgings  of  the  oldest  member  among 
those  composing  it.  The  assembly  voted  that  the 
minutes  of  this  day  shall  be  printed  by  the  printer 
is  of  the  national  assembly.  The  session  was  ad- 
journed to  Monday,  the  2 2d  of  this  month,  in  the 
hall  and  at  the  usual  hour.  The  president  and  the 
secretaries  signed:  Bailly,  President;  Camus,  Sec- 
retary;   Pison  du  Galland,  Jr.,  Secretary. 

20  2 .  Le  point  du  jour,  No.  4. 

After  the  vote  passed  by  the  clergy,  an  immense 
crowd  of  spectators  betook  themselves  Saturday  at 
a  very  early  hour  to  the  hall  of  the  national  assem- 
bly.    They  wished  to  witness  a  union  so  much  the 

as  more  remarkable,  as  the  majority  was  constantly  in- 
creasing through  the  addition  of  new  signers;  but 
the  military  force  already  prohibited  entrance  and 
arrested  this  patriotic  curiosity. 

23 


The  French  Revolution 

About  nine  o'clock  the  president  of  the  assembly 
and  the  two  secretaries  presented  themselves  at  the 
principal  door;  entrance  having  been  refused  to 
them  as  well  as  to  a  large  number  of  deputies,  the 

s  president  asked  for  the  officer  of  the  guard.  The 
Comte  de  Vassan  presented  himself  and  said  he 
had  been  ordered  to  prevent  any  one  entering  the 
hall,  because  of  preparations  which  were  being  made 
for  a  royal  session.     M.  Bailly  declared  to  him  with 

io  firmness   that   he   protested   against   the   obstacles 

put  in  the  way  of  the  holding  of  the  session  fixed 

yesterday  for  to-day,  and  which  he  declared  open. 

The  Comte  de  Vassan  having  added  that  he  was 

authorized  to  allow  the  officers  to  enter  to  get  the 

15  papers  they  might  need,  the  president  and  the 
secretaries  entered.  They  saw,  in  truth,  that  the 
most  of  the  benches  had  been  removed,  and  that  all 
the  passageways  of  the  hall  were  guarded  by  sol- 
diers.    They  noticed  at  the  same  time  in  the  court 

20  and  on  the  outside  door  several  placards,  the  tenor 
of  which  we  have  given  in  the  last  number. 

The  president  and  the  two  secretaries  betook 
themselves  soon  after  to  the  tennis  court  near  Saint- 
Francis  Street,  where  the  members  of  the  assembly 

25  went  also ;  and,  finding  that  nearly  all  of  them  had 
gathered  there,  they  held  their  session  and  continued 
to  deliberate  upon  public  questions,  perfectly  con- 
vinced that  the  national  assembly  existed  in  any 
place  where  its  members  had  come  together. 

24 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

At  about  half  past  ten,  the  assembly  being  com- 
plete, the  president  gave  an  account  of  two  letters 
which  he  had  received  in  the  morning  from  the 
Marquis  de  Breze,  grand  master  of  ceremonies,  and 
s  of  the  reply  he  had  made  to  them. 

First  letter  of  M.  de  Breze* 

"The  King  having  ordered  me,  Sir,  to  make  public 
by  heralds  his  intention  to  hold  on  Monday,  the 
twenty-second  of  this  month,  a  royal  session,  and  at 

io  the  same  time  his  purpose  to  suspend  the  assem- 
blies, which  the  preparations  to  be  made  in  the  three 
halls  of  the  orders  render  necessary,  I  have  the  honor 
to  inform  you  of  it.     I  am  with  respect,  Sir,"  etc. 
"  P.  S. — I  believe  it  would  be  well,  Sir,  if  you  would 

is  charge  the  secretary  with  the  responsibility  of  gath- 
ering up  the  papers  for  fear  they  might  be  lost. 
Would  you  also  have  the  kindness  to  have  the  names 
of  the  secretaries  sent  to  me,  that  I  may  give  in- 
structions permitting  them  to  enter,  the  necessity 

20  of  not  interrupting  the  task  of  the  workmen,  who 
have  no  time  to  spare,  not  making  it  possible  to 
admit  everybody  to  the  halls." 

Reply  of  the  president  of  the  national  assembly 

"I  have  not  yet  received  any  order  from  the  King, 
as  Sir,  for  the  royal  session,  nor  for  the  suspension  of 
the  assemblies,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  go  to  the  one 
I  set  for  this  morning  at  eight  o'clock." 

25 


The  French   Revolution 

Second  letter  of  M.  de  Breze 

"It  was  by  positive  orders  of  the  King  that  I  had 
the  honor  to  write  to  you  this  morning,  Sir,  and  in- 
form you  that  His  Majesty,  wishing  to  hold  a  royal 
s  session  on  Monday,  which  calls  for  preparations  in 
the  three  assembly  halls  of  the  orders,  his  intention 
was  that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  enter,  and  that 
the  sessions  should  be  suspended  until  after  the  one 
His  Majesty  will  hold.     I  am  with  respect,"  etc. 

io  After  the  reading  of  these  letters,  the  assembly, 
having  deliberated,  passed  unanimously  the  follow- 
ing decree : 

"The  national  assembly,  considering  itself  called  to 
establish  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom,  to  work 

is  for  the  regeneration  of  public  order,  and  to  maintain 
the  true  principles  of  the  monarchy,  cannot  be  pre- 
vented in  any  way  from  continuing  its  deliberations 
in  whatever  place  it  may  be  forced  to  establish  itself, 
and,  finally,   wherever  its  members  are  gathered, 

20  there  is  the  national  assembly ;  resolved  that  all 
the  members  of  this  assembly  immediately  take  the 
solemn  oath  never  to  separate,  and  to  reassemble 
wherever  circumstances  require  until  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  kingdom  shall  be  established  and  fixed 

25  on  solid  bases ;  and,  that  the  oath  being  taken,  all  the 
members  and  each  one  of  them  in  particular  shall  con- 
firm by  their  signatures  this  unshakable  resolution." 

26 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

After  the  reading  of  this  decree  the  president  re- 
quested that  he  and  the  secretaries  might  take  the 
oath  first.  The  president  took  the  oath  alone,  and 
he  had  the  secretaries  take  the  oath  after  the  fol- 

s  lowing  formula:  "We  swear  never  to  separate  from 
the  national  assembly,  and  to  reassemble  where  cir- 
cumstances may  require  until  the  constitution  of 
the  kingdom  shall  be  established  and  fixed  on  solid 
foundations."    Then  the  assembly  took  the  same 

io  oath  at  the  dictation  of  its  president.  A  minute 
before,  the  deputies  of  the  colony  of  Saint-Domingo 
had  presented  themselves  to  ask  permission  to  asso- 
ciate themselves  provisionally  with  the  nation  by 
taking  the  same  oath.     The  report  of  the  committee 

15  on  credentials  having  been  favorable  to  this  provi- 
sional request,  the  assembly  granted  it,  and  they  took 
the  same  oath.  This  ceremony  formed  the  most 
imposing  spectacle.  It  was  followed  by  applause 
and  reiterated  and  universal  cries  of  "Long  live  the 

20  King!"  The  oath  taken,  the  Marquis  de  Gouy  ad- 
dressed the  assembly,  saying:  "The  colony  of  Saint- 
Domingo  was  very  young  when  it  gave  itself  to 
Louis  XIV.;  to-day,  richer  and  more  brilliant,  it 
puts  itself  under  the  protection  of   the  national 

as  assembly,  and  declares  that  it  will  henceforth  call 
itself  a  national  colony." 

The  roll  call  of  the  deputies  of  the  baillages,  the 
s£n6chaussees,  the  provinces,  and  cities  took  place 
according  to  alphabetical  order,  and  each  one  of  the 

27 


The  French   Revolution 

members,  on  responding,  approached  the  desk  and 
signed. 

During  the  roll  call,  and  in  his  turn,  a  deputy  of 
the  senechaussee  of  Castelnaudary  signed  opposed. 

s  Camus,  one  of  the  secretaries,  announced  it  to  the 
assembly,  and  there  arose  a  general  cry  of  indigna- 
tion. The  president  having  first  asked  that  the 
reasons  of  the  one  opposed  be  heard,  the  latter  de- 
clared that  he  did  not  believe  he  could  swear  to  exe- 

io  cute  deliberations  which  had  not  been  sanctioned  by 
the  king.  The  president  replied  to  him  that  the 
assembly  had  already  made  public  the  same  prin- 
ciples in  its  addresses  and  deliberations,  and  that  it 
was  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  all  the  members  of 

is  the  assembly  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  the  royal 
sanction  for  all  resolutions  passed  upon  the  constitu- 
tion and  legislation.  The  deputy  in  opposition  hav- 
ing persisted  in  his  opinion,  it  was  voted  that  his 
signature  should  be  left  on  the  document  to  prove 

20  the  liberty  of  opinion.  The  roll  call  of  the  deputies 
and  the  signing  of  the  decree  having  been  finished 
at  about  half  past  four,  the  question  came  up  of 
preparing  an  address  to  the  king  to  inform  him  of 
this  decree.     Chapelier,  De  Gouy,  and  some  others 

as  improvised  addresses,  but  the  assembly  did  not  make 
use  of  them,  and  it  resolved  that  the  president  should 
simply  present  to  the  king  the  above  decree,  at  the 
same  time  testifying  to  his  majesty  its  astonish- 
ment and  its  grief  at  having  been  interrupted  in  the 

28 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis   Court 

holding  of  its  sessions  without  having  been  previous- 
ly notified.  Before  the  end  of  this  session,  which 
lasted  until  six  o'clock,  it  was  decided  that  that  of 
the  assembly  was  adjourned  and  continued  on  Mon- 

s  day  at  the  usual  hour.  It  was  also  decided  that  if 
the  royal  session  took  place  in  the  national  hall  all 
the  members  would  remain  there  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  session  to  take  up  their  deliberations 
and  usual  tasks.     Finally  the  printing  of  the  min- 

io  utes  and  the  decree  of  this  day  was  ordered,  that 
they  might  be  made  public  the  next  day. 

\Yesterday,  Sunday,  no  session. 
3.  Uassemblee  nationale,  I,  160.     The  20th. 

They  were  on  their  way  to  the  hall  of  the  estates, 

is  as  usual,  and  at  the  hour  indicated,  when  they  heard 
announced  in  the  streets  by  heralds  at  arms  that 
which  follows:  "The  King  having  resolved  to  hold  a 
royal  session  of  the  states  general,  Monday,  June 
2 2d,  the  preparations  to  be  made  in  the  three  halls 

20  which  serve  for  the  meetings  of  the  orders  make  it 
necessary  that  these  assemblies  should  be  suspended 
until  after  the  holding  of  the  said  session.  His 
Majesty  will  make  known  by  a  new  proclamation 
the  hour  at  which  he  will  betake  himself  on  Monday 

2s  to  the  assembly  of  the  estates."  The  deputies,  seeing 
in  this  proclamation  no  particular  order  not  to  go  to 
the  hall,  seeing  in  it  only  an  exhibition  of  authority, 
only  an  outrage  upon  the  liberty  of  the  entire  nation, 
and  which  it  is  always  glorious  to  repulse  with  all 

29 


The  French  Revolution 

one's  power,  took  one  and  all  the  road  to  the  usual 
place  of  their  session.  Having  arrived  at  the  gate 
of  the  Menus,  what  a  novel  spectacle!  The  deputies 
found  there  French  guards,  officers  of  the  guards, 

s  who  with  fixed  bayonets  and  drawn  swords  would 
have  plunged  like  vile  assassins  the  sword  of  despot- 
ism into  the  breast  of  the  citizen,  of  the  representa- 
tive of  the  nation,  whom  the  profound  sense  of  in- 
justice would  have  cast  into  the  midst  of   these 

io  sacrilegious  battalions.  And  who  would  believe  it  ? 
It  is  a  deputy  who  commands  these  French  Guards, 
it  is  the  Due  du  Chatelet,  it  is  he  who  figures  among 
the  representatives  of  the  nobility,  and  who  is  the 
leading  fanatic  on  the  side  of  the  majority. 

is  I  cannot  express  here  the  sentiments  the  deputies 
experienced:  some,  filled  with  the  keenest  sorrow, 
saw  in  the  future  nothing  but  the  dissolution  of  the 
estates;  others  were  filled  with  indignation  at  seeing 
the  majesty  of  the  nation  thus  profaned,  vilified  by 

20  an  exhibition  of  authority  which  since  the  monarchy 
reposes  upon  unshakable  foundations  and  in  the 
most  oppressive  reigns  has  never  seen  the  like.  But 
no  deputy  was  frightened;  the  love  of  the  public 
welfare,    devotion   to   country,    bolstered  up  their 

as  courage  and  inspired  them  with  resolutions,  one  after 
the  other,  worthy  of  the  finest  ages  of  Rome  or 
Sparta. 

Gathered  in  groups  in  the  Avenue  de  Versailles, 
they  asked  one  another  reciprocally  what  should  be 

30 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

done  in  such  trying  circumstances.  Here  some  one 
cried  out  in  a  loud  voice:  "Let  us  all  go  to  Marly. 
Let  us  go  there,  right  in  front  of  the  chateau,  and  hold 
our  session;    let  us  force  into  the  hearts  of  our 

s  enemies  the  fear  with  which  they  have  filled  ours ; 
let  them  tremble  in  their  turn.  The  king  announces 
a  royal  session,  he  has  postponed  it  [the  session] 
until  next  Monday.  This  delay  is  too  long;  he 
shall  hold    it   immediately;    he    shall    come  down 

io  from  his  chateau  and  will  only  have  to  place  himself 
in  the  midst  of  his  people." 

There  some  one  said:  "What!  Do  they  want  to 
dissolve  the  estates?  Does  the  government  want  to 
plunge  the  country  into  the  horrors  of  civil  war? 

is  Everywhere  there  is  lack  of  food;  everywhere  fears 
of  famine  exist.  For  two  years  French  blood  has 
been  reddening  the  ground;  we  were  going  to  put 
an  end  to  these  misfortunes,  to  raise  the  thick  veil 
with  which  the  activities  of  the  monopolists  were 

20  covered,  to  free  the  government  itself  from  the 
charge  of  having  starved  the  people,  to  prove  that 
the  two  hundred  millions  which  are  in  the  royal 
treasury  do  not  come  from  this  crime,  and  it  stopped 
us  in  our  course!" 

as  "  Let  them  open  our  annals;  the  Louis  XL's,  the 
Mazarins,  the  Richelieus,  the  Briennes  have  at- 
tacked, rended,  oppressed  corporations,  individuals; 
but  does  one  believe  that  twelve  hundred  deputies 
of  the  nation  are  subject  to  the  caprices,  to  the  chang- 

3i 


The  French   Revolution 

ing,  momentary  whim  of  a  despotic  ministry?"  Such 
were  the  different  emotions  of  the  deputies  who  in 
the  midst  of  those  who  surrounded  them,  of  travel- 
ers who  stopped  to  contemplate  this  spectacle,  of 

s  the  people  who  gathered  in  crowds,  expressed  the 
sentiments  of  their  hearts  with  that  frankness,  that 
liberty  which  formerly  animated  those  ancient 
Romans  in  the  public  places. 

Some  wished  to  assemble  in  the  Place  d'Armes. 

io  It  is  there,  they  said,  that  we  must  revive  those 
beautiful  days  of  our  history;  it  is  there  we  will 
hold  the  Champ  de  Mai.  Others  wished  to  gather  in 
the  gallery  [of  the  chateau]  and  there  give  the  novel 
spectacle  of  speaking  the  language  of  liberty  by 

is  the  side  of  that  sinister  hall  in  which,  a  short  time 
since,  was  designated  for  the  executioner  the  head 
of  him  who  had  pronounced  this  sacred  word ;  when 
it  was  announced  to  the  assembly  that  M.  Bailly 
had  just  entered  the  hall  with  two  commissioners 

20  and  twenty  deputies  to  take  away  the  papers  left 
there  the  evening  before;  that  M.  Bailly  had  then 
fixed  the  place  of  assembly  in  the  tennis  court,  Rue 
Saint-Francois. 

Groups  of  deputies  united  to  go  to  the  place  in- 

25  dicated  by  the  president.  At  the  opening  of  the 
meeting  M.  Bailly  announced  that  he  had  received 
this  morning  a  letter  from  the  Marquis  de  Breze  of 
the  following  content: 

"The  King  having  ordered  me,  Sir,  to  make  public 

32 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

by  the  heralds  at  arms  that  he  was  going  to  hold  a 
royal  session  next  Monday,  June  2 2d,  and  to  pre- 
pare in  consequence  the  halls  of  the  states  general, 
I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  of  it.     I  am  with 

s  respect,"  etc. 

M.  Bailly  added  that  he  had  replied  in  the  follow- 
ing terms:  "Not  having  yet  received  orders  of  the 
King,  Sir,  the  assembly  being  announced  for  eight 
o'clock,  I  shall  go  where  duty  calls  me." 

10  Hardly  had  the  reading  of  this  reply  ended  when 
a  second  letter  of  M.  de  Breze  to  the  president  was 
announced.  The  Marquis  de  Breze  excused  him- 
self by  saying  that  he  had  been  charged  by  the  king 
to  notify  the  president,  and  that  it  was  equally  by 

is  the  orders  of  his  majesty  that  he  had  placed  sentinels 
at  the  doors  of  the  estates. 

It  appeared  from  this  letter  that  it  was  the  Mar- 
quis de  Brez6  who  had  rendered  himself  guilty  of 
high  treason  against  the  nation  by  placing  troops 

20  at  the  door  of  the  national  hall.  It  appeared  also 
that  he  should  be  charged  with  this  crime  if  he  could 
not  justify  himself  by  an  order  in  the  handwriting 
of  the  king.  The  assembly  made  some  observations 
upon  the  criminal  conduct  of  the  grand  master,  but 

25  it  had  other  causes  of  alarm  which  did  not  permit  it 
to  fix  its  attention  upon  a  single  individual. 

M.  Bailly  described  with  force  and  energy  the 
frightful  situation  of  the  national  assembly;  he  sug- 
gested the  discussion  of  the  question  of  what  course 

33 


The  French  Revolution 

the  assembly  should  take  at  such  a  stormy  moment. 
There  was  but  one  opinion,  adopted  unanimously; 
it  was  due  to  M.  Mounier.  In  truth,  some  changes 
were  made  in  it.     M.  Target,  M.  le  Chapelier,  M. 

s  Barnave  supported  the  measure  he  proposed  with 
that  eloquence  of  the  moment  which  difficulties 
arouse,  which  the  sentiment  of  liberty  animates, 
and  that  courage  which  struggles  against  danger  and 
turns  to  steel  against  obstacles.     One  would  have 

io  imagined  that  he  was  listening  to  Cicero  thundering 
from  the  tribune  against  the  faction  of  Catiline. 
Here  is  the  decree  as  it  was  passed: 

DECREE    OF   THE    NATIONAL   ASSEMBLY,  JUNE    20TH 

"  The  national  assembly  considering  that,  called  to 
is  fix  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom,  effect  the  regener- 
ation of  public  order,  and  maintain  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  the  monarchy,  nothing  can  prevent  it  from 
continuing  its  deliberations  and  consummating  the 
important  work  for  which  it  has  assembled,  in  what- 
20  soever  place  it  may  be  forced  to  establish  itself, 
and  that,  finally,  wherever  its  members  may  meet, 
there  is  the  national  assembly;   decrees  that  all  its 
members  shall  take  at  once  a  solemn  oath  never  to 
separate,  and  to  assemble  wherever  circumstances 
as  may  demand  until  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom 
and  the  regeneration  of  public  order  shall  be  estab- 
lished on  solid  bases,  and  that,  the  oath  being  taken 
by  all  the  members  and  by  each  one  in  particular, 

34 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

they  shall  confirm,  by  their  signatures,  this  unshak- 
able resolution." 

As  soon  as  it  was  approved,  applauded,  each  one 
took  the  solemn  oath  just  given.     It  is  thus  that 

s  these  virtuous  citizens  devote  themselves,  for  the 
love  of  country,  to  all  the  dangers  which  despotism, 
persecution,  and  calumny  prepare  around  them;  it 
is  thus  that  they  bind  themselves  in  a  holy  con- 
spiracy for  promoting  the  welfare  of  their  fellow- 

io  citizens,  to  respect  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
monarchy,  by  annihilating  the  abuses  which  violate 
them  every  day  and  by  posing  upon  eternal  founda- 
tions the  happiness  of  the  country  and  the  splendor 
of  the  state.     It  was  not  sufficient  to  pronounce  it; 

is  the  national  assembly  wished  to  sign  it  and  bind 
itself  by  the  strongest  possible  chains. 

That  each  deputy  might  come  in  his  turn,  there 
was  a  general  roll  call  by  baillages.  All  the  deputies 
signed  with  the  enthusiasm  of  liberty.     There  were 

20  but  two  men  who,  incapable  of  responding  to  the 
call  of  duty,  feared  to  submit  to  the  oath.  Two 
deputies  of  Castelnaudary,  M.  Guilhermy,  procurer 
of  the  king  in  the  presidial,  withdrew  without  sign- 
ing,1 M.  Martin  d'Auch,  advocate,  signed  it,  it  is 

as  true,  but  added  a  protestation  to  it.     No  one  at  the 

1  In  the  facsimiles  of  the  signatures  of  the  oath,  published  by 
Brette  in  his  u  Serment  du  Jeu  de  Paume,"  the  name  of  Guilhermy 
is  found. 

35 


The  French  Revolution 

time  noticed  it ;  it  was  only  at  the  end  of  the  signing. 
M.  Bailly  asked  the  assembly  if  it  would  consent  to 
have  these  protests  remain  in  the  minutes.  Opinions 
were  divided,  and  it  was  only  after  a  long  debate 

s  that  they  agreed  upon  one  opinion,  which  was  unani- 
mously approved.  The  procd s-verbal,  it  said,  will 
be  printed,  and  those  protests  of  M.  Martin  will 
prove  his  devotion  to  the  country.  M.  Martin 
realized  fully  the  mistake  he  had  allowed  himself 

io  to  make;  he  wished  to  justify  himself,  advanced  to 
the  table,  talked  some  time,  but  without  success. 
The  deputation  of  Saint-Domingo,  which  had  been 
admitted  to  the  sessions  of  the  assembly,  but  with- 
out having  any  right  to  be  there,  asked  to  be  defi- 

is  nitely  admitted  in  order  to  sign  the  oath.  M.  Bailly 
said  that  he  had  in  hand  an  opinion  pronounced  by 
the  bureau  of  verification,  which  stated  that  the 
deputation  should  be  received  to  the  number  of 
twelve.     This  opinion  was  followed  in  the  assem- 

2obly;  the  deputies  of  Saint-Domingo  were  admitted 
into  the  assembly  to  the  number  of  twelve  and 
took  and  signed  the  oath. 

M.  Chapelier  proposed,  thereupon,  to  prepare  an 
address  to  the  king;   he  read  a  sketch  of  one,  M. 

25  Barnave  another.  But  the  assembly,  while  approv- 
ing them,  believed  it  was  not  the  fitting  moment  to 
send  an  address  to  the  king,  as  that  would  be  to 
multiply  them,  since  the  assembly  some  time  be- 
fore had  asked  the  king  to  fix  the  time  when  it  could 

36 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

present  one  to  him  and  it  had  not  yet  been  indicated. 
The  session  closed  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  it 
being  voted  that  next  Monday,  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  assembly  should  betake  itself  to 
5  the  usual  place  of  its  session.  It  was  proposed  that 
an  orator  should  be  named,  but  it  was  replied  that 
it  would  be  useless;  that  if  it  was  necessary  to  reply 
to  the  king,  M.  Bailly,  the  president,  would  acquit 
himself  of  the  task  with  the  prudence,  the  sagacity, 

io  and  the  respectful  courage  he  has  manifested  since 
he  had  the  honor  to  preside  over  the  assembly. 
4.  Bailly,  M6moires,  I,  230. 

At  half  past  six  in  the  morning,  one  of  my  friends, 
the  Chevalier  de  Panges,  who  was  very  much  in- 

15  terested  in  the  debates  of  the  assembly  and  who,  to 
follow  their  course  attentively,  had  established  him- 
self at  Versailles  and  attended  every  session,  came 
to  me  and  announced  that,  having  gone  to  the  hall, 
as  he  did  every  day,  he  had  been  refused  entrance. 

20  He  asked  me  if  I  had  given  orders,  and  I  replied  in 
the  negative.  ...  I  sent  a  messenger  to  the  hall.  I 
was  informed  that  it  was  surrounded  by  French 
guards.  I  was  shown  a  placard  conceived  in  these 
terms:    "By  Order  of  the  King.  .  .  .  The  King  having 

35  resolved  to  hold  a  royal  session  of  the  states  general, 
on  the  22d  of  June,  the  preparations  to  be  made  in  the 
three  halls  which  serve  for  the  meetings  of  the  orders 
make  it  necessary  to  suspend  these  meetings  until  after 
the  holding  of  the  said  session.  His  Majesty  will 
4  37 


The  French  Revolution 

make  known  by  a  fresh  proclamation  the  hour  at  which 
on  Monday  he  will  betake  himself  to  the  assembly  of 
the  estates.  .  .  ."  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  I  received 
the  following  letter  from  M.  le  Marquis  de  Brez6, 
s  grand  master  of  ceremonies : 

"Versailles,  June  20,  1789. 
"The  King  having  ordered  me,  Sir,  to  make  public  by 
heralds  his  intention  to  hold  on  Monday,  the  twenty- 
second  of  this  month,  a  royal  session,  and  at  the  same 
10  time  his  intention  to  suspend  the  assemblies,  which  the 
preparations  to  be  made  in  the  halls  of  the  three  orders 
render  necessary,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  of  it. 
I  am,'1  etc. 

This  official  knowledge  came  too  late,  because  we 
15  had  already  learned  of  it  by  the  public  rumor  and 
by  the  occupation  of  the  hall.     It  was  not  sufficient, 
because  it  should  have  been  made  known  not  only 
to  me,  but  also  to  the  assembly,  and,  the  hall  being 
closed  and  the  session  suspended,  I  no  longer  had 
20  any  means  of  communicating  with  the  members.  .  .  . 
After  having  weighed  all  the  difficulties  of  the  crit- 
ical situation  in  which  I  found  myself  I  felt  that 
the  letter  of  M.  de  Breze  did  not  exempt  me  from 
my  duties  toward  the  assembly.     Friday  evening  I 
25  had  set  the  hour  of  the  session  for  the  next  day  at 
eight  o'clock.     Nothing  could  release  me  from  this 
engagement  contracted  with  it  and  the  session  ought 

38  * 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

to  take  place,  permitting  the  assembly,  when  it  had 
knowledge  of  the  letter,  to  take,  in  its  wisdom,  the 
course  it  might  judge  proper.  I  wrote  immediately 
to  M.  de  Breze :  "I  have  not  yet  received  any  order  from 

5  the  King,  Sir,  for  the  royal  session,  nor  for  the  suspension 
oj  the  assemblies;  and  it  is  my  duty  to  go  to  the  one 
I  set  for  this  morning  at  eight  o'clock.  I  have  the 
honor  to  be"  etc. 

I  dressed  quickly  and  called  the  secretaries  to- 

io  gether  to  consult  them  upon  what  we  should  do. 
We  agreed  that  we  ought  to  ignore  the  fact  that  the 
hall  was  closed,  to  go  there  as  usual  and  draw  up 
an  official  statement  of  the  refusal  to  allow  us  to 
enter.     In  fact,  we  presented  ourselves  at  the  prin- 

is  cipal  entrance  in  the  Avenue  de  Paris,  which  we 
found  surrounded  by  a  great  crowd  in  which  were 
many  deputies.  The  sentinel  stopped  us  and  for- 
bade us  to  pass.  I  asked  for  the  officer  of  the  guard, 
M.  le  comte  de  Vassan,  who  told  me  that,  the  king 

20  intending  to  hold  a  royal  session  Monday,  the  in- 
dispensable preparations  had  made  it  necessary  to 
order  the  closing  of  the  hall.  I  replied  to  him,  ac- 
cording to  what  had  been  agreed  upon,  that  I  pro- 
tested against  the  obstacles  put  in  the  way  of  the 

25  holding  of  the  session  fixed  yesterday  for  to-day, 
and  which  I  declared  open.  After  this  precaution — 
necessary  in  order  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  the 
legitimately  constituted  assembly — M.  de  Vassan 
had  us  enter  the  court  in  order  to  get  us  away  from 

39 


The  French  Revolution 

the  crowd;  in  every  way  he  conducted  himself  tow- 
ard us  with  the  greatest  consideration.  As  we  were 
getting  ready  to  draw  up  the  minutes,  and  as  it  was 
raining  a  little,  he  invited  us  to  enter  the  building 

s  and  to  see  the  hall  and  convince  ourselves  that,  oc- 
cupied as  it  was,  it  was  impossible  to  hold  the  session 
there.  As  we  were  about  to  enter,  the  crowd  of 
deputies  who  were  outside  the  grating  in  the  avenue 
made  a  movement  to  follow  us.     M.  de  Vassan  called 

io  to  arms  and  ran  after  me  to  ask  me  to  use  my  au- 
thority as  president  to  prevent  an  attempt  to  force 
an  entrance;  he  called  my  attention  to  the  embar- 
rassing position  in  which  he  found  himself  between 
the  respect  he  owed  the  deputies  and  his  office, 

is  which,  according  to  military  law,  did  not  permit  him 
in  any  case  to  allow  his  post  to  be  forced.  I  trem- 
bled at  the  danger;  I  ran  to  the  grating;  I  implored 
the  deputies  who  were  without  to  make  no  attempt 
to  force  the  guard  and  the  gate;  I  assured  them  that 

20  we  were  coming  out  to  join  them.  At  my  voice  the 
movement  ceased  and  everything  remained  quiet. 
It  was  at  this  moment  that  a  young  deputy  said  to 
me:  "Why  do  you  interfere  in  this  matter?  Let  it 
alone.' '     I  replied  to  him,  "Sir,  you  give  the  advice 

2s  of  a  young  man."  And,  in  truth,  what  would  have 
happened  if  armed  force  had  been  opposed  to  the 
movement  of  the  deputies,  if  some  of  them  had  been 
killed  and  wounded,  even  if  they  had  been  only 
roughly  treated  by  laying  violent  hands  upon  per- 

40 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

sons  inviolable  and  almost  sacred  on  account  of 
their  office?  It  would  have  produced  a  general 
conflagration.  We  attained  our  end  and  succeeded 
by  wiser  and  more  legal  means.  We  entered  one 
s  of  the  offices  of  the  building,  and  there  I  received 
a  second  letter  from  M.  de  Breze,  who,  not  having 
understood  me,  explained  to  me  that  his  letter  con- 
tained the  orders  of  the  king: 

"  Versailles,  June  20, 178Q. 

10  "It  was  by  positive  orders  of  the  King  that  I  had  the 
honor  to  write  to  you  this  morning,  Sir,  and  to  inform 
you  that,  His  Majesty  wishing  to  hold  a  royal  session, 
which  calls  for  preparations  in  the  three  assembly 
halls   of  the   orders,  his  intention   was  that   no   one 

15  should  be  allowed  to  enter;  that  the  sessions  should  be 
suspended  until  after  the  one  His  Majesty  will  hold. 
I  am,"  etc. 

It  was  not  possible  for  me  alone  to  decide  what 
action  should  be  taken  upon  the  declared  intentions 

20  of  the  king,  nor  even  upon  orders,  because  I  had  no 
right  to  bind  the  assembly.  It  was  its  business  to 
deliberate  upon  what  it  should  do ;  I  was  responsible 
to  it  for  my  actions  as  it  was  responsible  for  its 
own  to  the  nation.     We  were  in  this  office  with  the 

25  secretaries  and  a  dozen  deputies  who  had  been  al- 
lowed to  come  in  with  us.  M.  de  Vassan  came  and 
explained  to  us  that  longer  delay  in  the  interior  of 

41 


The  French  Revolution 

the  building  would  compromise  him.  We  saw  that 
he  had  realized  that  a  document  we  might  draw  up 
and  which  would  be  dated  from  the  inside  of  the 
building  would  be  in  contradiction  with  his  orders, 

s  and  would  show  he  had  not  exactly  carried  them  out. 
We  did  not  wish  to  run  the  risk  of  embarrassing  a 
man  who  had  comported  himself  with  so  much  kind- 
ness and  politeness,  and  we  went  out.  We  rejoined 
the  large  gathering  of  deputies  in  the  avenue.     All 

io  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  necessary  to  call  the 
assembly  to  order  that  it  might  deliberate  in  so 
delicate  a  crisis  and,  accordingly,  to  find  a  suitable 
hall.  M.  Guillotin  proposed  the  tennis  court.  It 
was  voted  to  go  there.     I  walked  at  the  head  of  this 

15  crowd  of  deputies,  and,  for  fear  that  the  place  might 
be  closed  to  us  for  political  reasons,  asked  five  or 
six  of  the  deputies  to  go  ahead  and  take  possession 
of  it.  The  owner  of  the  tennis  court  received  us 
with  pleasure  and  hastened  to  procure  for  us  the 

20  greatest  number  of  conveniences  possible.  Not  hav- 
ing a  guard,  I  asked  two  deputies  to  place  themselves 
at  the  door  to  prevent  strangers  from  entering.  But 
very  soon  the  guard  of  the  city  hall  came  to  ask  per- 
mission to  continue  their  regular  service  as  at  the 

25  hall,  which  was  granted  them  with  pleasure.  Behold, 
then,  the  national  assembly  of  France  in  a  tennis 
court,  in  a  place  witness  of  exercises  and  games,  and 
which  was  about  to  become  the  witness  of  the 
destinies  of  the  empire,  in  a  place  where  the  walls 

42 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

were  somber  and  bare,  where  there  was  not  a  seat 
to  sit  upon.  An  arm-chair  was  offered  to  me,  but  I 
refused  it;  I  did  not  wish  to  be  seated  before  a 
standing  assembly.  I  remained  thus  all  this  tire- 
s  some  day.  During  the  whole  session  we  had  only 
five  or  six  benches  and  one  table  for  writing.  But 
this  place  was  exalted  by  the  majesty  which  it  con- 
tained; the  galleries  were  filled  with  spectators,  a 
crowd  of  people  surrounded  the  door  and  extended 
io  for  a  great  distance  into  the  streets,  and  everything 
announced  that  it  was  the  nation  which  honored  the 
tennis  court  by  its  presence. 

The  deputies  arrived  one  after  another,  and  each 
one,  suspecting  what  the  ministry  was  trying  to  do, 
is  congratulated  himself  on  seeing  the  others  again 
and  on  being  united  with  them.  As  soon  as  the 
assembly  could  be  called  to  order  and  silence  se- 
cured I  reported  on  the  two  letters  I  had  received 
from  M.  de  Breze  and  on  all  the  steps  the  secretaries 
20  and  I  had  taken.  Our  conduct  was  universally 
approved.  They  thought  that  a  letter  from  the 
grand  master  of  ceremonies  was  not  sufficient,  and 
that  a  letter  from  the  king  himself  to  the  president 
of  the  assembly  was  necessary  to  communicate  di- 
ss rectly  to  him  his  intentions.  In  short,  when  the 
king  had  something  to  communicate  to  the  parlia- 
ment, he  wrote  to  the  first  president;  for  matters 
touching  religion  he  wrote  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris.     The  assembly,  even  in  its  incipiency,  had  a 

43 


The  French   Revolution 

right  to  ask  to  be  treated  as  well  as  the  parliament. 
The  maladroitness  of  the  ministry  was,  then,  incon- 
ceivable, but  it  helped  the  national  assembly,  and  its 
wisdom  profited  by  all  the  false  measures  employed 

s  against  it.  The  question  as  to  whether  the  king  had 
the  right  to  suspend  the  sessions  of  the  assembly  was 
not  treated  openly,  but  the  opinion  was  that  it 
would  be  very  dangerous  if  the  king  had  this  right. 
It  was  thought  the  session  could  not  be  suspended, 

io  at  least  in  this  manner.  The  principal  and  funda- 
mental question  was  not  ripe;  it  was  sufficient  for 
the  present  to  have  avoided  the  dangers  of  separa- 
tion. It  was  necessary  to  occupy  ourselves  with 
measures  to  prevent  it  from  coming  up  again.     The 

is  members  were  excited,  and  some  of  them  were  in- 
clined toward  extreme  measures,  and  were  of  the  opin- 
ion that  the  assembly  should  change  its  meeting 
place  to  Paris,  and  should  depart  immediately  on 
foot  and  in  a  body.    A  member  wrote  out  the  mo- 

20  tion  for  it ;  everything  would  have  been  lost  if  this 
violent  step  had  been  taken.  Perhaps  a  troop  of 
cavalry  would  have  been  called  out  to  stop  the 
march.  At  any  rate,  they  would  have  separated 
themselves  from  the  king,  and  this  step  would  have 

as  had  serious  consequences.  If  the  motion  had  been 
made,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  effervescence  of 
the  moment  would  have  led  to  its  adoption  by  accla- 
mation and  without  examination.  Another  mem- 
ber had  the  idea  of  the  oath.     A  general  cry  of 

44 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

approbation  arose  at  once,  and  after  a  very  short  dis- 
cussion the  assembly  passed  the  following  decree, 
so  simple  but  so  firm: 

4 'The  national  assembly,  considering  itself  called 

s  to  establish  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom,  to 
work  for  the  regeneration  of  public  order,  and  to 
maintain  the  true  principles  of  the  monarchy,  can- 
not be  prevented  in  any  way  from  continuing  its 
deliberations,  in  whatever  place  it  may  be  forced 

io  to  establish  itself,  and,  finally,  wherever  its  members 
are  gathered,  there  is  the  national  assembly. 

"Resolved  that  all  the  members  of  this  assembly 
immediately  take  a  solemn  oath  never  to  separate, 
and  to  reassemble  wherever  circumstances  require, 

is  until  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  estab- 
lished and  fixed  upon  solid  foundations;  and  that, 
the  said  oath  being  taken,  all  the  members  and  each 
one  of  them  in  particular  shall  confirm  by  their 
signature  this  unshakable  resolution." 

20  The  resolution  having  been  passed,  I  asked,  on 
account  of  my  rank  as  president,  to  take  the  oath 
first;  the  secretaries  made  the  same  request.  When 
we  had  taken  this  solemn  oath,  the  entire  assembly 
took  it  at  my  dictation.     I  pronounced  the  formula 

as  in  a  voice  so  loud  and  so  intelligible  that  my  words 
were  understood  by  all  the  people  who  were  in  the 
street,  and  immediately  in  the  midst  of  the  applause 
there  arose  from  the  assembly  and  from  the  crowd 
of  citizens  who  were  without,  reiterated  and  uni- 

45 


The  French   Revolution 

versal  cries  of  "Long  live  the.  King!"  The  assem- 
bly, in  its  firm  and  courageous  conduct,  if  it  took 
useful  precautions  against  the  ministry,  if  it  armed 
itself  against  its  despotism,  was  still  united  heart 

s  and  soul  with  the  king,  and  had  no  intention  of  doing 
anything  against  his  legitimate  authority;  it  had 
even  taken  care  to  declare  in  its  resolution  that  one 
of  its  duties  was  to  maintain  the  true  principles  of 
the  monarchy,  in  order  to  thoroughly  prove  to  all 

io  that  whatever  hostility  there  might  be  in  its  meas- 
ures was  directed  against  despotism  and  not  against 
the  monarchy. 

This  resolution  is  still  one  of  the  monuments  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  national  assembly.     It  secured  its 

is  safety,  it  protected  the  interests  of  France,  and  it 
assured  the  making  of  a  constitution  not  yet  com- 
menced. There  is  no  doubt  but  that  there  was  a 
desire  and  a  plan  to  dissolve  this  assembly  which 
promised  to  be  too  formidable;    preparations  were 

20  being  made,  and  without  doubt  troops  were  gath- 
ered in  quite  large  numbers  around  Paris  and  Ver- 
sailles with  the  intention  of  making  a  big  change  in 
the  ministry  and  of  doing  violence  to  the  assembly. 
It  is  certain  that  by  the  act  which  the  assembly 

25  had  just  passed  separation  became  impossible.  If 
orders  had  been  given  they  could  not  have  been 
executed.  The  experience  of  the  day  proved  that 
if  the  hall  were  closed  the  assembly  would  gather 
elsewhere;  if  a  meeting  place  had  not  been  found  at 

46 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

Versailles,  the  members  would  have  gone  to  Paris 
or  to  another  city.  How  could  it  have  been  pre- 
vented? A  few  deputies  could,  indeed,  have  been 
arrested,  but  how  could  six  hundred  have  been  im- 

s  prisoned  ?  Those  who  remained  would  still  have 
been  the  national  assembly,  wherever  they  were, 
and  the  employment  of  violence  would  have  roused 
and  armed  the  kingdom. 

Immediately  after  the  taking  of  the  oath  the  roll 

io  was  called  by  baillages,  senechaussees,  provinces, 
and  cities;  and  each  of  the  members  present,  on 
responding  to  the  call,  approached  the  desk  and 
signed. 

One  member  alone,  M.  Martin  d'Auch,  had  the 

is  temerity  to  add  to  his  signature  the  word  opposed. 
Instantly  a  great  tumult  arose.  The  assembly 
was  profoundly  moved  by  this  defection  from  the 
unanimity  of  the  deliberation ;  indignation  followed, 
and  rage  took  possession  of  the  greater  part  of  the 

20  members  of  the  assembly.  During  this  clamor  I 
rushed  into  the  midst  of  the  crowd  and  mounted 
upon  the  table,  in  order  to  dominate  and  be  under- 
stood. After  having  the  fact  explained  to  me,  of 
which  I  had  been  vaguely  informed,  I  had  M.  Martin 

2s  d'Auch  come  forward.  He  repeated  to  me  what  he 
had  already  said,  that  he  did  not  believe  that  he 
could  swear  to  execute  decrees  which  had  not  been 
sanctioned  by  the  king.  I  replied  to  him  that  the 
assembly  believed  in  the  same  principles,  that  it 

47 


The  French  Revolution 

would  always  recognize  the  necessity  of  the  royal 
sanction.  (Point  du  jour,  I,  page  25.)  I  explained 
to  him  that  the  resolutions  touching  the  internal 
affairs  of  the  assembly  and  the  present  oath  did  not 

s  appear  to  be  susceptible  of  sanction.  He  persisted. 
I  made  some  fitting  remarks  on  his  stubbornness 
and  reproached  him  as  he  deserved;  I  even  spoke 
with  very  great  severity  to  satisfy  the  general  discon- 
tent and  quiet  the  assembly.    I  said  to  him  that  each 

10  deputy  had  his  own  conscience  and  was  master  of 
his  own  opinion,  but  it  was  not  permissible  for  him 
to  associate  his  individual  opinion  with  that  of  the 
assembly;  he  could  refuse  his  support  to  an  opinion 
with  which  he  did  not  agree,  but  he  could  not  explain 

is  his  action  in  the  minutes ;  that  the  protest  of  an 
individual  could  be  inserted  there  only  by  an  express 
vote.  That  said,  I  had  him  withdraw  that  he 
might  not  be  exposed  to  the  results  of  a  very  legiti- 
mate indignation,  and  I  had  him  pass  out  by  a  back 

20  door  to  protect  him  from  an  indignation  much  more 
redoubtable — that  of  the  people  to  whom  the  news 
had  already  been  carried.  The  assembly  deliberated 
upon  the  kind  of  protest  he  had  indulged  in  and  the 
word  opposed,  which  he  had  inserted  in  the  minutes. 

25  Some  wished  to  erase  the  signature  and  the  word, 
but,  the  excitement  having  subsided  and  good  sense 
having  once  more  taken  possession  of  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  assembly,  it  was  decided  that  the  word 
opposed  should  be  allowed  to  stand,  and  that  at  the 

48 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

beginning  of  the  decree  it  should  be  stated  that  it 
had  lacked  one  vote  of  passing  unanimously. 

If  this  defection  had  vexed  the  assembly,  it  found 
consolation  in  the  general  eagerness  of  those  who 

s  asked  to  be  permitted  to  add  their  signatures  to  those 
of  the  deputies  whose  credentials  had  already  been 
verified.  The  deputies  of  Saint-Domingo  begged  to 
be  admitted  immediately  that  they  might  sign,  and 
this  was  granted  them  provisionally.     The  deputies 

io  whose  credentials  had  not  been  verified,  the  substi- 
tutes present  asked  and  obtained  the  same  favor. 
Thus  ended  this  great  and  glorious  day,  and  the 
assembly  adjourned  its  session  to  Monday,  the 
twenty-second,  which  was  to  be  at  the  same  time 

is  the  royal  session. 

5.  Duquesnoy,  Journal,  I,  in,  No.  28,  June  21st. 

Yesterday,  at  the  moment  when  the  president 

presented  himself  at  the  assembly  hall,  he  found  it 

guarded   by   soldiers    who   refused    him   entrance. 

20  They  gave  as  a  reason  that  the  king  was  to  hold  a 
session  Monday  and  that  preparations  to  be  made  in 
the  hall  required  a  great  deal  of  time.  He  insisted  and 
gained  access  to  the  hall ;  he  saw  that  in  truth  every- 
thing was  topsy-turvy.     Then,  by  a  sudden  and  al- 

25  most  involuntary  movement  of  all  the  deputies  who 
were  on  the  spot,  it  was  agreed  to  assemble  in  the 
tennis  court.  All  the  members  arrived  there  suc- 
cessively, and  after  much  indignation  and  many 
complaints  it  was  proposed  to  draw  up  minutes  of 

49 


The   French  Revolution 

these  facts  and  to  bind  themselves  by  an  oath  never 
to  separate,  in  whatever  place  they  should  be  forced 
to  assemble  and  for  whatever  cause  it  might  be. 
The  minutes  were  drawn  up,  the  oath  taken  and 

s  signed  by  all  the  members  after  a  very  slight  discus- 
sion on  the  form  of  the  oath.  The  signing  took  a 
very  long  time,  and  was  finished  only  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  Then  different  motions  were  made.  M. 
le  Chapelier  proposed  one  which  had  for  its  object 

io  an  address  to  the  king  for  the  purpose  of  presenting 
to  him  the  minutes  just  drawn  up  as  a  proof  of  the 
love  and  fidelity  of  the  assembly.  It  contained  bit- 
ter complaints  against  the  besetters  of  the  throne 
who  wish  to  detach  the  nation  from  its  august  chief 

is  to  make  of  him  a  party  leader.  This  motion  ap- 
peared both  too  violent  and  too  dangerous,  as  it  is 
not  known  whether  the  royal  session  is  for  or  against 
the  commons;  it  is  necessary  to  await  the  outcome 
before  deciding  what  course  to  follow. 

20  It  was  then  proposed  that  the  president  should 
make  a  speech  at  the  royal  session;  divers  opinions 
were  expressed  in  the  debate  which  followed,  after 
which  it  appears  to  me  that  it  was  voted  there  would 
not  be  any.     It  was  agreed  that  immediately  after 

as  the  royal  session  the  national  assembly  would  re- 
main in  place  to  deliberate. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  majority  of  the  nobility 
has  just  passed  a  decree  in  which  it  binds  itself  to 
shed  the  last  drop  of  its  blood  rather  than  yield. 

50 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

Such  is  our  position  to-day:  one  can  only  form 
conjectures  concerning  the  object  of  the  royal 
session,  but  in  fact  it  is  evident  that  agreement, 
union  are  impossible.     There  exists  such  animosity 

s  on  all  sides,  so  firm  a  determination  to  make  one's 
opinion  prevail,  such  solemn  pledges,  that  nothing 
less  than  Providence  can  save  the  kingdom  from  the 
horrible  crisis  which  menaces  it.  The  extreme  facility 
with  which  the  oath  never  to  separate  was  taken  and 

io  signed  is  an  inconceivable  thing.  It  is  evident  that 
it  is  equivalent  to  taking  possession  of  authority, 
to  taking  away  from  the  king  the  right  to  dissolve 
or  suspend  the  estates,  to  making  itself  master 
from  that  time  on  of  the  executive  power.     It  is 

is  evident  that  each  one  of  the  members  exposes  him- 
self personally  to  the  greatest  dangers,  either  from 
the  irritated  king  or  from  the  people,  tired  of  bear- 
ing the  burden  the  commons  are  going  to  impose 
upon  them,  and  desperate  at  not  gathering  from  the 

20  estates  the  fruits  they  had  expected  from  them. 
It  is  impossible  to  imagine  with  what  levity,  what 
inconsideration,  this  pledge  was  taken;  few  people, 
without  doubt,  saw  its  consequences. 

What  side,  then,  can  the  king  take?    If  that  of 

as  the  nobility,  the  kingdom  is  inundated  with  blood; 
if  that  of  the  commons,  he  ceases  to  be  king,  and  one 
cannot  tell  where  they  will  stop.  It  is  a  frightful 
thing  to  say,  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  only  too  true, 
the  most  exaggerated  ideas,  the  most  incendiary 

Si 


The  French  Revolution 

propositions,  nothing  astonishes  one  to-day  in  the 
hall.  It  appears  evident  to  me  that  the  assembly- 
is  conducted  by  a  half  score  of  persons  devoured  by 
a  profound  and  secret  ambition,  hungry  for  notoriety, 

s  and  determined  to  acquire  it  at  any  price  whatever. 
These  men  have  no  kind  of  morals  and  principles; 
nothing  stops  them;  no  right,  no  property  will  ap- 
pear sacred  to  them,  and  natural  equality,  the  natural 
law  are  the  words  they  make  use  of  to  seduce  and 

to  draw  to  them  certain  feeble  minds  which  they  have 
illuminated.  Many  through  timidity  do  not  dare 
oppose  their  frenzy,  and  the  very  exaggeration  of 
their  audacity,  the  boldness  with  which  they  slan- 
der, defame,  insures  their  safety.     Thus  an  assem- 

is  bly  of  six  hundred  persons,  among  whom  there  are 
many  enlightened  individuals,  the  entire  kingdom  are 
at  the  mercy  of  a  few  rascals  to  whom  the  greatest 
crimes  are  only  a  play. 

It  would  be  hard  to  believe,  perhaps,  that  I  have 

20  heard  in  the  hall  words  like  the  following: 

"It  is  only  by  swimming  across  rivers  of  blood 
that  one  can  become  free." 

"  My  orders  are  given;  to-morrow  all  the  windows 
of  the  magistrates  are  broken." 

as      "What  can  happen  to  us  worse  than  death?" 
"  Perish  if  necessary,  but  perish  with  glory." 
6.  Young,  Arthur.     Travels  in  France,  170. 

The  20th.     News!    News!    Every  one  stares  at 
what  every  one  might  have  expected — a  message 

52 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

from  the  king  to  the  president  of  the  three  orders, 
that  he  should  meet  them  on  Monday;  and,  under 
pretense  of  preparing  the  hall  for  the  seance  royale, 
the  French  guards  were  placed  with  bayonets  to 

s  prevent  any  of  the  deputies  entering  the  room. 
The  circumstances  of  doing  this  ill-judged  act  of 
violence  have  been  as  ill-advised  as  the  act  itself. 
Mons.  Bailly  received  no  other  notice  of  it  than 
by  a  letter  from  the  Marquis  de  Breze,  and  the 

io  deputies  met  at  the  door  of  the  hall  without  knowing 
that  it  was  shut.  Thus  the  seeds  of  disgust  were 
sown  wantonly  in  the  manner  of  doing  a  thing,  which 
in  itself  was  equally  impalatable  and  unconstitu- 
tional.    The  resolution  taken  on  the  spot  was  a 

is  noble  and  firm  one ;  it  was  to  assemble  instantly  at 
the  jeu  de  paume,  and  then  the  whole  assembly 
took  a  solemn  oath  never  to  be  dissolved  but  by 
their  own  consent,  and  consider  themselves  and  act 
as  the  national  assembly,  let  them  be  wherever  vio- 

20  lence  or  fortune  might  drive  them,  and  their  expecta- 
tions were  so  little  favorable  that  expresses  were 
sent  off  to  Nantes,  intimating  that  the  national 
assembly  might  possibly  find  it  necessary  to  take 
refuge  in  some  distant  city.     This  message,   and 

as  placing  guards  at  the  hall  of  the  states,  are  the  re- 
sults of  long  and  repeated  councils,  held  in  the 
king's  presence  at  Marly,  where  he  had  been  shut 
up  for  several  days,  seeing  nobody;  and  no  person 
admitted,  even  to  the  officers  of  the  court,  without 
5  53 


The  French   Revolution 

jealousy  and  inspection.  The  king's  brothers  have 
no  seat  in  the  council,  but  the  Comte  d'Artois  in- 
cessantly attends  the  resolutions,  conveys  them  to 
the  queen,  and  has  long  conferences  with  her.   When 

s  this  news  arrived  at  Paris,  the  Palais  Royal  was  in 
a  flame,  the  coffee-houses,  pamphlet  shops,  corri- 
dors, and  gardens  were  crowded — alarm  and  appre- 
hension sat  in  every  eye — and  reports  that  were 
circulated  eagerly,  tending  to  show  the  violent  in- 

io  tentions  of  the  court,  as  it  were  bent  on  the  entire 
extirpation  of  the  French  nation,  except  the  party 
of  the  queen,  are  perfectly  incredible  for  their  gross 
absurdity;  but  nothing  was  so  glaringly  ridiculous, 
but   the  mob  swallowed  it  with  undiscriminating 

is  faith.  It  was,  however,  curious  to  remark,  among 
people  of  another  description  (for  I  was  in  several 
parties  after  the  news  arrived),  that  the  balance  of 
opinions  was  clearly  that  the  national  assembly,  as  it 
called  itself,  had  gone  too  far — had  been  too  precipi- 

20  tate  and  too  violent — had  taken  steps  that  the  mass 
of  the  people  would  not  support.  From  which  we 
may  conclude  that  if  the  court,  having  seen  the  ten- 
dency of  their  late  proceedings,  shall  pursue  a  firm  and 
politic  plan,  the  popular  cause  will  have  little  to  boast. 

25  The  2 1  st.  It  is  impossible  to  have  any  other  em- 
ployment at  so  critical  a  moment  than  going  from 
house  to  house  demanding  news,  and  remarking 
the  opinions  and  ideas  most  current.  The  present 
moment  is,  of  all  others,  perhaps  that  which  is  most 

54 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

pregnant  with  the  future  destiny  of  France.  The 
step  the  commons  have  taken  of  declaring  them- 
selves the  national  assembly  independent  of  the 
other  orders,  and  of  the  king  himself,  precluding  a 

s  dissolution,  is  in  fact  an  assumption  of  all  the  au- 
thority in  the  kingdom.  They  have  at  one  stroke 
converted  themselves  into  the  long  parliament  of 
Charles  I.  It  needs  not  the  assistance  of  much 
penetration  to  see  that  if  such  a  pretension  and 

io  declaration  are  not  done  away,  king,  lords,  and 
clergy  are  deprived  of  their  shares  in  the  legislation 
of  France.  So  bold  and  apparently  desperate  a 
step,  full  in  the  teeth  of  every  other  interest  in  the 
realm,  equally  destructive  to  royal  authority,  by 

15  parliaments  and  the  army,  can  never  be  allowed. 
If  it  is  not  opposed,  all  other  powers  will  lie  in 
ruins  around  that  of  the  common. 
7.  Mounier,  Recherches  sur  les  causes  qui  ont  empicki 
les  Francais  de  devenir  libres,  I,  294. 

20  June  20th.  A  short  time  before  the  hour  fixed 
for  the  meeting,  the  deputy  who  was  the  presiding 
officer  received  a  letter  from  the  grand  master  of 
ceremonies;  he  would  not  have  had  time  to  notify 
all  the  members  of  the  assembly  at  their  lodgings. 

25  He  [Bailly]  replied  that  he  had  received  no  order 
from  the  king,  and  that  he  was  going  to  the  meeting 
of  the  assembly.  The  grand  master  of  ceremonies 
wrote  him  a  second  letter  to  inform  him  that  he 
acted  only  in  accordance  with  the  orders  of  the 

55 


The  French  Revolution 

monarch.  But  did  they  not  know  that  the  deputies 
were  going  to  gather  at  the  door  of  their  hall ;  that, 
repulsed  by  armed  men,  they  would  not  fail  to  con- 
sider this  act  as  an  outrage;   that  their  indignation 

s  would  quickly  spread  to  the  multitude?  Is  it  not 
indeed  surprising  that  the  populace,  irritated  by  the 
gathering  of  the  deputies,  hurrying  in  crowds  through 
the  streets  of  Versailles,  complaining  with  loud  cries 
because  their  assembly  hall  had  been  closed  by  mili- 

io  tary  force — is  it  not  surprising  that  at  the  very  in- 
stant it  did  not  break  out  into  fierce  revolt?  Doubt- 
less these  measures  had  not  been  contemplated  by 
the  king;  they  were  due  to  the  blunders  of  second- 
ary officials.     But,  none  the  less,  they  led  to  the 

is  most  deplorable  consequences;  they  gave  birth  to 
the  fear  that  the  states  general  were  to  be  dissolved, 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  renounce  all  hopes 
born  at  the  time  of  their  convocation.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  commons  took  refuge  in  a  tennis  court, 

20  and  there  they  took  an  oath  never  to  separate  until 
the  constitution  had  been  made. 

Sharing  the  general  indignation;  fearing  to  see 
this  great  opportunity,  so  long  awaited,  of  reform- 
ing abuses  and  improving  the  lot  of  the  people, 

2s  vanish ;  hearing  around  me  the  assertion  that  we 
must  choose  between  taking  the  oath  or  going  at 
once  to  the  capital  in  the  midst  of  the  fermentation 
this  scandalous  scene  would  create;  yielding  to  the 
desire  of  recovering  the  credit  with  the  popular 

56 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

party  I  had  lost,  and  which  I  wished  to  recover  only 
that  I  might  use  it  for  the  good  of  my  country;  hop- 
ing that  the  union  of  the  orders,  which  appeared  to 
me  inevitable  and  not  remote,  would  create  a  ma- 

s  jority  favorable  to  the  royal  authority,  I  believed 
this  oath  less  dangerous,  I  believed  that  it  was  jus- 
tified by  the  circumstances,  I  charged  myself  im- 
prudently with  putting  it  before  the  assembly. 
This  fatal  oath  was  an  infringement  of  the  rights 

io  of  the  monarch ;  it  was  equivalent  to  saying  to 
him  that  he  had  not  the  right  to  dissolve  the  as- 
sembly; it  rendered  the  assembly  independent  of 
him,  whatever  use  it  might  make  of  its  authority. 
How  I  reproach  myself  to-day  with  having  proposed 

is  it !  What  lessens  the  bitterness  of  these  recollec- 
tions is  that  a  hundred  voices  would  have  been 
raised  to  present  this  measure  had  I  not  presented 
it  myself;  or,  what  was  worse  still,  the  assembly 
would  have  set  the  capital  on  fire  and,  supported  by 

20  the  whole  force  of  the  people,  would  have  put  itself 
in  a  state  of  war  with  the  king.  But  what  intrepid 
firmness  was  shown  by  M.  Martin,  deputy  of  Auch, 
who  alone  in  that  impassioned  crowd  dared  to  speak 
of  the  fidelity  he  owed  his  prince,  braved  injuries 

as  and  menaces,  and  asked  to  be  permitted  to  protest.1 
8.  Malouet,  M&moires,  I,  321. 
The  meeting  of  the  tennis  court  was  the  natural 

irThis  second  paragraph  appears  as  a  footnote  in  the  French 
text,  page  296. 

57 


The  French  Revolution 

consequence  of  the  half  measures  opposed  to  the 
audacious  enterprises  of  the  commons.  I  persist  in 
maintaining  that  we  should  not  have  been  refused 
entrance  to  our  hall  without  being  sent  back  to  our 
s  baillages,  and  with  the  very  clear  announcement  to 
the  nation  that  the  purpose  of  the  adjournment  was 
only  to  assure  the  full  and  entire  execution  of  the 
national  wishes,  already  changed  and  violated  by 
the  present  assembly  of  the  commons. 

io  The  oath  of  the  tennis  court  was  a  signal  of  in- 
surrection. I  proposed  uselessly  an  amendment  to 
the  effect  that  we  should  never  separate  from  the 
king;  my  proposition  was  received  with  hoots. 
The  general  opinion  then  was  that  the  king,  the 

is  court,  and  the  first  two  orders  wished  to  annul  the 
estates,  arrest  the  patriotic  deputies,  and  establish 
despotism  by  an  armed  force. 

The  scene  of  the  tennis  court  is  still  exaggerated. 
When  I  advanced  to  the  table  to  propose  as  an 

20  amendment  to  make  the  constitution  in  concert  with 
the  king,  M.  Bailly  said,  "That  is  just,  but  I  shall  not 
put  it  to  the  vote  that  it  may  not  be  rejected.'1  I  insisted. 
I  proposed  especially  the  oath  with  a  condition  and 
several  deputies  supported  me.1     Malouet,  Opinions, 

25    III,     209. 

9.  Biauzat,  Gaultier,  Vie  et  correspondance,  II,  132 

(June  23,   1789). 
1  Paragraph  three  appears  as  a  footnote  in  the  Memoires,  page  321. 

58 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

agents  who  had  acted  so  inconsiderately  might  pro- 
duce some  bad  effect  in  Paris  gave  rise  to  a  letter  of 
M.  Necker  to  M.  de  Crosne,  lieutenant  general  of 
police,  in  which  the  minister  declared  that  the  in- 

s  tention  of  the  king  was  not  to  interrupt  the  sessions 
of  the  states  general,  and  requested  M.  de  Crosne 
to  make  this  letter  public.  It  was  printed  and  dis- 
tributed gratis.  I  saw  copies  of  it  in  Paris  last 
Sunday,  but  I  find  none  here  to  send  you. 

io  M.  le  marquis  de  Breze  betook  himself  Saturday 
to  the  halting  place  of  the  hunt  to  inform  the  king 
of  what  had  taken  place  in  the  morning.  He  could 
speak  of  it  as  an  eye-witness,  for  I  saw  him  in  the 
court  of  the  Menus1  ask  our  president,  with  whom 

is  I  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  others  had  entered,  if 
our  president  had  received  the  second  letter  he  had 
written  him  a  half  hour  before,  and  to  which  the 
president  had  made  no  reply. 

M.  de  Breze  communicated  to  the  king  the  public 

20  intention  of  the  clergy  to  unite  with  us.     The  king 
replied :  '  'It  is  a  good  example  to  follow. ' '     The  person 
who  informed  me  of  this  fact  is  very  sure  of  it ;  you 
can  count  upon  it. 
io.  Rabaut  de  Saint-fitienne.  Precis  historique  de  la 

as  revolution  frangaise,  132. 

The  twentieth  of  June,  after  the  national  assembly 
had  constituted  itself,  the  members  of  the  clergy 

1 A  portion  of  the  building  occupied  by  the  estates  was  called 
the  Menus. 

59 


The  French  Revolution 

were  expected  to  join  it.  But  while  the  deputies 
were  going  to  the  hall  a  proclamation  was  made  by 
heralds  at  arms  and  posted  everywhere,  announcing 
that  the  sessions  were  suspended,  and  that  the  king 

s  would  hold  a  royal  session  on  the  2 2d.  The  reason 
given  for  the  closing  of  the  hall  for  three  days  was 
the  necessity  of  work  in  the  interior  in  the  decora- 
tion of  the  throne.  This  puerile  reason  served  to 
prove  that  they  only  wished  to  prevent  the  union 

10  of  the  clergy,  the  majority  of  which  had  adopted  the 
system  of  the  commons.  However,  the  deputies  ar- 
rived one  after  another,  and  they  felt  the  deepest 
indignation  on  finding  the  doors  closed  and  guarded 
by  soldiers.     They  asked  each  other  what  power 

is  had  the  right  to  suspend  the  deliberations  of  the 
representatives  of  the  nation.  They  talked  of  hold- 
ing their  meeting  in  the  street,  of  going  to  the  terrace 
of  Marly  to  offer  the  king  the  spectacle  of  the 
deputies  of  the  people,  to  invite  him  to  unite  with 

20  them  in  a  truly  royal  and  paternal  session  more 
worthy  of  his  heart  than  that  with  which  he  menaced' 
them.  M.  Bailly,  their  president,  was  permitted 
to  enter  the  hall  with  some  members  to  get  their 
papers;    and  there  he  protested  against  the  arbi- 

2s  trary  orders  which  kept  the  hall  closed.  Finally  he 
assembled  the  deputies  in  the  tennis  court  of  Ver- 
sailles, become  famous  forever  on  account  of  the 
courageous  resistance  of  the  first  representatives  of 
the  French  nation.     They  encouraged  one  another 

60 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

as  they  went  along;  they  promised  never  to  separate 
from  one  another,  and  to  resist  to  the  death.  They 
arrived  there;  they  sent  out  a  call  for  the  deputies 
who  were  not  informed  of  what  was  going  on.  A  sick 
s  deputy  had  himself  taken  to  the  hall.  The  people, 
who  besieged  the  door,  covered  their  representatives 
with  benedictions.  Soldiers  disobeyed  orders  to  come 
and  guard  the  entrance  to  this  new  sanctuary  of  liberty. 
A  voice  was  heard;  it  asked  that  each  one  should  take 

io  the  oath  never  to  separate  from  the  others,  to  assem- 
ble in  any  place  whatsoever  until  the  constitution  of 
the  monarchy  and  public  reforms  had  been  secured. 
All  took  the  oath,  all  signed  except  one;  and  the 
minutes  make  mention  of  this  remarkable  circum- 

is  stance. 
ii.  Dorset,  Despatches  from  Paris,  II,  220  (June  25, 
1789). 
On  Sunday  last  only  the  nobility  assembled  in 
their  own  court;    Monday  had  been  fixed  for  a 

20  stance  royale,  which  for  particular  reasons  was  put 
off  till  the  next  day;  in  the  mean  time  M.  Necker, 
it  having  been  apprehended  that  the  people  in  this 
capital  might  be  alarmed  at  such  an  appearance  of 
arbitrary  exertion  on  the  part  of  the  king,  wrote  the 

as  following  letter  to  M.  de  Crosne,  the  lieutenant  general 
of  the  police : 

"June  20th,  five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
"The  hall  of  the  states  general  having  been  closed 
as  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity,  the  deputies  of 

61 


The  French  Revolution 

the  third  estate  having  assembled  in  another  place, 
the  public  might  believe  that  the  intention  of  the  king 
was  to  dissolve  the  states  general.  It  is  essential, 
Sir,  that  you  should  make  it  understood  everywhere 

s  in  Paris  that  His  Majesty  is  still  engaged  in  bringing 

about  union  and  harmony  for  the  good  of  his  people, 

and  that  the  sessions  will  begin  again  next  Monday.' ' 

Everything  has  been  perfectly  quiet  in  this  city, 

but  the  consternation  which  visibly  prevails,  and 

ro  the  number  of  persons  who  assemble  daily  in  the 
coffee-houses  and  all  places  of  public  resort,  especial- 
ly in  the  garden  of  the  Palais  Royal,  where  they  dis- 
cuss with  a  marked  anxiety  and  interest  the  impor- 
tant business  of  the  moment,  far  exceeds  anything 

15  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen  in  this  country. 

12.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance,  98  (June  22, 
1789). 

The  deputies  of  the  third  estate,  having  found 
the  door  of  the  hall  of  the  estates  barred  by  French 
20  and  Swiss  guards,  not  having  been  notified,  they 
feared  that  the  remonstrances  of  the  other  chambers 
had  decided  the  king  to  suspend,  even  to  dissolve, 
the  states  general.  They  betook  themselves,  ac- 
cordingly, to  a  neighboring  tennis  court,  and  there 
25  took  oath  never  to  separate  until  the  constitution 
had  been  formed. 

This  alarm  was  not  well  founded,  the  doors  having 
been  closed  to  give  opportunity  for  the  preparations 

62 


The  Oath  of  the  Tennis  Court 

necessary  for  the  royal  session  which  will  take  place 
Monday,  and  in  which  the  king  will  endeavor  to 
bring  the  orders  together.  Last  evening  M.  de 
Crosne,  lieutenant  of  police,  received  a  letter  from 
5  the  king  requesting  him  to  reassure  the  people  of 
Paris  upon  his  intentions. 


PROBLEM    II 
II. — The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,  1789 


The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,   1789 


A.   THE   HISTORIC   SETTING   OF  THE  PROBLEM 

THE  royal  session  followed  so  closely  upon  the  oath 
of  the  tennis  court,  separated  from  it  by  only  three 
days,  that  it  is  necessary  to  add  but  little  to  what  has 
been  said  in  the  historic  setting  of  the  first  problem. 
The  time  from  June  19th  to  June  23d  was  occupied  by 
the  king  and  his  council  in  the  discussion  of  the  plan  for 
the  royal  session.  The  nature  and  outcome  of  this  dis- 
cussion forms  a  part  of  the  problem,  and  need  not  be 
treated  here.  Something,  however,  should  be  said  con- 
cerning the  events  of  June  2 2d,  when  the  majority  of  the 
clergy  joined  the  national  assembly  for  the  purpose  of 
verifying  credentials  in  common.  This  question  had  been 
debated  in  the  order  of  the  clergy  from  June  12th,  when 
the  summons  was  received  from  the  commons  to  bring 
their  credentials  into  the  common  hall,  until  June  19th, 
when  the  clergy  voted  to  accept  the  invitation.  The 
closing  of  the  hall  on  June  20th  prevented  the  union  on 
that  day,  and  the  national  assembly  adjourned  to  meet 
after  the  royal  session.  The  failure  of  the  king  and  his 
council  to  arrive  at  any  understanding  on  June  21st, 
touching  the  plan  for  the  session  of  the  next  day,  made 
it  necessary  to  postpone  the  session  until  June  2 2d. 
Again  on  the  morning  of  June  2 2d  the  voice  of  the  herald 
was  heard  in  the  streets  of  Versailles,  and  again  the 

67 


The  French  Revolution 

deputies  tried  in  vain  to  get  access  to  their  hall.  The 
assembly  had  adjourned  on  the  twentieth  to  meet  on  the 
twenty-second,  and  the  meeting  must  be  held;  the  oath 
required  it.  But  where  should  the  deputies  meet?  The 
tennis  court  was  not  seriously  considered.  There  was  a 
tradition  that  the  Comte  d'Artois  had  engaged  the  court 
for  tennis  to  prevent  the  deputies  from  meeting  there, 
and  the  tradition  has  been  repeated,  without  examina- 
tion, by  many  writers.  The  truth  is  the  deputies  did 
not  wish  to  occupy  the  tennis  court  on  the  twenty-second. 
The  court  was  already  occupied  by  spectators,  there  were 
no  seats,  and  it  was  understood  that  the  clergy  would 
unite  with  the  commons  on  this  day.  Some  other  place 
must  be  found.  The  order  of  the  Recollets  occupied 
buildings  in  the  same  street  with  the  court,  and  an 
attempt  was  made  to  secure  their  church  for  the  assembly. 
The  brothers  were  fearful  of  the  royal  displeasure,  and 
declined  to  allow  the  buildings  to  be  used.  This  inci- 
dent may  have  given  rise  to  the  false  tradition  concern- 
ing the  Comte  d'Artois  and  the  tennis  court.  Finally 
the  curate  of  the  church  of  Saint-Louis  offered  the  use 
of  his  church. 

The  deputies  gathered  there,  and  were  called  to  order 
by  Bailly.  He  read  a  letter  from  the  Marquis  de  Breze* 
including  one  from  the  king  to  Bailly  informing  him  of 
the  postponement  of  the  royal  session  and  stating  that 
the  hall  would  be  open  only  on  the  next  day.  The  letter 
was  addressed  to  "Monsieur  Bailly,  President  of  the 
Order  of  the  Third  Estate."  It  was  evident  that  the 
king  did  not  recognize  the  existence  of  a  national  assem- 
bly. There  was  no  chance  here  for  the  subterfuge  of 
June  20th.  Here  was  a  letter  signed  by  the  king  him- 
self, announcing  the  closing  of  the  hall,  but  it  did  not  for- 
bid the  meeting  of  the  commons.     The  assembly  prac- 

68 


The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,  1789 

tically  reaffirmed  its  action  of  June  20th.  Several  depu- 
ties who  had  been  absent  on  that  day,  and  some  substi- 
tutes, asked  to  be  permitted  to  take  the  oath.  The  oath 
was  read  again,  and  the  deputies  signed. 

A  contesting  delegation  of  nobles  of  Guyenne  entered 
the  hall  and  asked  permission  to  lay  their  credentials 
before  the  assembly.  It  was  voted  that  the  credentials 
should  be  referred  to  the  committee  on  verification,  who 
should  make  a  report  to  the  assembly. 

At  this  point  a  delegation  from  the  clergy  was  an- 
nounced, and  the  assembly  sent  a  delegation  to  meet 
them.  The  clergy  had  assembled  in  another  part  of  the 
church,  and  were  desirous  of  knowing  how  they  would  be 
received  before  appearing  as  a  body.  This  was  the 
natural  result  of  the  vote  of  June  19th,  in  which  the  rights 
of  the  order  had  been  reserved.  The  Bishop  of  Chartres, 
spokesman  of  the  delegation,  announced  that,  "The 
majority  of  the  order  of  the  clergy  has  voted  to  unite 
for  the  common  verification  of  credentials,  and  we  have 
come  to  notify  you  of  it  and  to  ask  for  its  place  in  the 
assembly."  The  president  replied:  "The  deputies  of 
the  order  of  the  clergy  to  the  states  general  will  be  re- 
ceived with  all  the  cordiality  and  respect  which  is  due 
them.  Their  ordinary  place  of  distinction  is  free  to  re- 
ceive them."  In  other  words,  although  the  commons 
had  abolished  the  political  distinction  of  the  orders  on 
June  17th,  it  was  ready  to  receive  the  clergy  as  the  first 
estate,  to  allow  them  to  occupy  seats  which  indicated 
precedence  over  the  other  two  orders,  and  the  president 
even  referred  to  the  clergy  as  deputies  to  the  states  general, 
as  if  the  states  general  might  even  yet  come  into  exist- 
ence, and  the  term  national  assembly  cease  to  have  its 
revolutionary  significance.  The  delegation  returned  to 
report,  and  soon  the  entrance  of  the  clergy  was  announced. 

6  69 


The  French  Revolution 

The  commons  sent  a  delegation  of  sixteen  members  to 
receive  them.  As  the  clergy  entered  and  passed  to  their 
seats  on  the  right  of  the  president  they  were  received  by 
vigorous  applause  from  the  commons  and  the  spectators 
who  crowded  the  church.  The  action  of  the  clergy  on 
the  eve  of  the  royal  session  strengthened  the  cause  of  the 
commons  and  gave  presage  of  victory.  The  great  assem- 
bly was  deeply  moved,  many  shedding  tears.  "The 
spectacle  of  this  meeting,"  wrote  Arthur  Young,  on  the 
same  day,  "was  singular — the  crowd  that  attended  in 
and  around  the  church  was  great — and  the  anxiety  and 
suspense  in  every  [eye,  with  the  variety  of  expression 
that  flowed  from  different  views  and  different  char- 
acters, gave  to  the  countenances  of  all  the  world  an 
expression  I  had  never  witnessed  before."  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Vienne,  who  acted  as  president  of  the  clergy, 
explained  the  meaning  of  their  action:  "This  union,"  he 
said,  "which  has  for  its  object  to-day  only  the  common 
verification  of  credentials,  is  the  signal  and,  I  may  say, 
the  prelude  of  the  constant  union  they  [the  clergy]  desire 
with  all  the  orders,  and  particularly  with  that  of  the 
deputies  of  the  commons."  Bailly,  in  reply,  voiced  the 
satisfaction  of  the  assembly,  but  remarked  that  there 
were  still  wishes  to  be  realized.  "I  see  with  regret,"  he 
explained,  "that  the  brothers  of  another  order  are  missing 
from  this  august  family." 

The  archbishop  had  taken  a  seat  by  the  side  of  the 
president,  and,  speaking  in  the  name  of  the  clergy,  had 
asked  that  the  minutes  of  the  verification  of  the  creden- 
tials of  the  commons  be  submitted  to  them.  The  clergy 
were  requested  to  name  sixteen  of  their  number  to  serve 
as  members  of  the  committee  on  verification.  The  sig- 
nificance of  all  this  should  not  be  overlooked.  The 
clergy  had  not  declared  in  favor  of  a  single  assembly  and 

70 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

vote  by  head;  they  had  not  abandoned  their  indepen- 
dence as  an  order.  ' '  One  should  be  careful  not  to  believe, ' ' 
wrote  Duquesnoy,  "that  the  majority  of  the  clergy  are 
in  favor  of  voting  by  head;  they  are  for  verifying  cre- 
dentials in  common,  and  nothing  more." 

At  the  close  of  the  session  the  members  of  the  nobility 
from  Dauphine"  entered  and  were  received  with  great 
applause.  "The  majority  of  the  clergy,"  said  the  spokes- 
man, the  Marquis  de  Blacons,  "having  put  an  end  to  all 
the  difficulties  contained  in  our  instructions,  we  come  to 
commit  to  you  the  verification  of  our  credentials,  and  to 
ask  to  be  permitted  to  examine  the  record  of  your  veri- 
fication." The  delegation  laid  their  credentials  on  the 
table,  and  they  were  referred  to  the  committee  on  veri- 
fication. The  .assembly  was  then  adjourned  "until  the 
next  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  in  the  usual  meeting  place." 
Thus,  on  the  evening  of  the  royal  session  it  was  clear 
that  the  commons  had  the  support  of  the  majority  of  the 
clergy  in  the  matter  of  common  verification,  and  that  it 
was  the  intention  of  the  commons,  acting  as  the  national 
assembly,  to  hold  a  meeting  after  the  royal  session,  what- 
ever might  be  the  nature  of  that  session.  They  were  a 
national  assembly,  elected  to  make  a  constitution,  and 
no  one,  not  even  the  king  himself,  had  the  right  to  dis- 
solve the  assembly. 

B.    CRITICAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF   THE    SOURCES 

i.  Necker.  (a)  Sur  V administration  de  M.  Necker  par 
lui-meme.  Paris,  1791.  Necker  was  born  in  Geneva  in 
1732,  and  died  at  Coppet,  Switzerland,  in  1804.  Early 
in  life  he  entered  a  Paris  banking  house  as  clerk.  In 
time  he  built  up  a  large  banking  business  of  his  own, 
made  his  fortune,  and  acquired  a  great  reputation  as  a 

7i 


The  French  Revolution 

financier.  In  1776  he  was  made  minister  of  finance  by 
Louis  XVI.,  and  held  office  until  1781.  After  his  retire- 
ment matters  went  from  bad  to  worse,  and  in  1788,  when 
France  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy,  and  the  states 
general  had  been  promised  for  1789,  Necker  was  recalled 
to  office.  He  was,  however,  only  a  banker,  and  a  states- 
man was  needed  to  guide  France  through  the  great  crisis 
of  revolution.  After  a  pitiful  display  of  his  inability  to 
master  the  situation,  in  September,  1790,  Necker  resigned 
and  left  France,  a  disappointed  man,  his  reputation  wrecked 
and  his  popularity  so  completely  gone  that  his  departure 
was  scarcely  noticed.  The  following  year  he  published 
an  account  of  his  two  ministries.  It  was  the  statement 
of  a  man  who  tried  to  justify  his  acts  and  to  throw  the 
responsibility  for  his  failure  upon  others.  In  previous 
writings  he  had  spoken  with  great  respect  of  public  opin- 
ion. "I  do  not  quite  understand,"  he  remarked,  naively, 
in  this  volume,  "why  public  opinion  no  longer  occupies 
in  my  eyes  the  place  that  it  did." 

(b)  De  la  revolution  franfaise.  4  vols.  Paris,  1797. 
This  work  was  completed  in  October,  1795.  In  a  note 
in  the  first  volume  (p.  xii.)  Necker  writes:  "It  will  be 
noted  that  this  work  was  finished  at  the  end  of  1795. 
Indecision  on  my  part  and  some  difficulty  with  the  pub- 
lishers retarded  its  appearance."  This  work,  like  the 
one  published  in  1791,  was  an  apology  for  Necker's  ad- 
ministration. The  treatment  of  the  royal  session  is 
fuller  than  in  the  first  work,  but  the  point  of  view  is  quite 
different. 

(c)  Letter  of  Necker  to  Louis  XVI.,  Archives  nationales, 
Paris,  K,  162.     Published  by  Lomenie,  Les  Mirabeau, 

v,  411- 

2.  Barentin,  Memoire  autographe  de  M.  de  Barentin. 
Paris,  1844.    Barentin  was  born  in  1738.    He  was  guard 

72 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

of  the  seals  and  Necker's  chief  opponent  in  the  ministry. 
After  the  appearance  of  Necker's  work,  De  la  revolution 
franfaise,  Barentin  wrote  his  volume  to  correct  the  in- 
correct statements  concerning  the  royal  session.  It  was 
not  his  intention  to  publish  the  work  at  the  time  of 
writing,  but  he  wished  to  leave  to  the  historian  of  the 
revolution  material  which  would  enable  him  to  refute 
Necker's  account.  He  charges  that  Necker  knowingly 
falsified  the  facts.  Necker  and  Barentin  are  the  two  prin- 
cipal, practically  the  only  witnesses  concerning  what  took 
place  in  the  council  meetings  preceding  the  royal  session. 
On  many  points  they  flatly  contradict  each  other. 

3.  Saint-Priest.  Letter  to  Louis  XVI.,  Archives  na- 
tionals, Paris,  Musee,  No.  1072.  Published  (by  Flam- 
mermont,  Revue  historique,  XLVI,  Mai-Juin,  1891. 
Saint-Priest  was  one  of  the  ministers  favorable  to  Necker. 

4.  Montmorin.  Letter  to  Louis  XVI.,  Archives  na- 
tionales,  Paris,  Musee,  No.  1088.  Montmorin  was  min- 
ister of  foreign  affairs  and  belonged  to  Necker's  party. 
He  had  been  in  office  since  the  death  of  Vergennes  in 
1786.  Published  by  Flammermont,  Revue  historique, 
XLVI. 

5.  Prod s-verbal,  No.  5.  The  official  record  of  the 
meeting  of  the  national  assembly  held  after  the  royal 
session  on  June  23d. 

6.  Seance  tenue  par  le  roi  aux  etats  generaux,  le  23  Juin, 
1789.  The  official  text  of  the  speeches  and  declarations 
of  the  king  delivered  at  the  royal  session.  It  was 
printed  at  the  time  by  Baudoin,  printer  to  the  national 
assembly,  and  forms  a  pamphlet  of  sixteen  pages. 

7.  Point  du  jour.  See  same  title  in  the  bibliography 
of  Problem  I. 

8.  Assemblee  nationale.  See  same  title  in  the  bibliog- 
raphy of  Problem  I. 

73 


The  French  Revolution 

9.  Courrier  de  Provence.  This  newspaper  was  for  a 
few  numbers  edited  by  Mirabeau.  This  is  the  title  by 
which  it  is  generally  known.  It  had  two  others ;  the  first 
two  numbers  were  called  J^tats-generaux,  but  when  this 
paper  had  been  suppressed  by  the  government,  the  new 
paper,  which  began  to  appear  the  latter  part  of  May, 
bore  the  title,  Lettres  de  M.  le  comte  de  Mirabeau  a  ses 
commettants.  At  the  end  of  July  the  title  changed  to 
Courrier  de  Provence.  The  paper  appeared  twice  a  week. 
Early  in  the  history  of  the  enterprise  Mirabeau  employed 
two  men  of  ability,  Swiss  exiles  from  Geneva.  They  were 
Dumont  and  Duroveray.  Dumont  states  {Souvenirs  sur 
Mirabeau,  102)  that,  "beginning  with  the  eleventh  letter 
of  Mirabeau  to  his  constituents,  it  was  always  Duroveray 
or  myself  who  edited  them."  The  letter  containing  the 
account  of  the  royal  session  is  the  thirteenth,  but  neither 
Dumont  nor  Duroveray  could  have  supplied  the  material 
for  it,  as  they  were  not  members  of  the  assembly,  and 
no  spectators  were  allowed  to  enter  the  hall  on  June  23d. 
The  Comte  de  Mirabeau,  representative  of  the  third 
estate  of  Aix  en  Provence,  was  born  in  1749.  He  was  the 
most  distinguished  statesman  and  orator  of  the  national 
assembly. 

10.  Biauzat,  Vie  et  correspondence.  See  bibliography 
of  Problem  I. 

11.  Bailly,  Memoir es.     See  bibliography  of  Problem  I. 

12.  Duquesnoy,  Adrien,  Journal.  See  bibliography  of 
Problem  I. 

13.  Jallet,  Journal  inedit.  Fontenay-le-comte,  187 1. 
Jallet  was  a  representative  of  the  clergy  of  Poitou,  and 
one  of  the  cures  who  joined  the  third  estate  in  response 
to  the  summons  of  June  10th.  He  wrote  his  journal  from 
day  to  day,  as  shown  by  the  expressions,  "At  the  confer- 
ence of  yesterday"  (p.  79)  and  "all  that  will  be  printed" 

74 


The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,  1789 

(speaking  of  the  declarations  of  the  royal  session).  Jallet 
died  in  August,  1791.  Another  member  of  the  clergy, 
Gr6goire,  had  made  a  copy  of  the  journal,  and  it  was 
from  a  copy  of  this  copy — the  property  of  M.  Carnot — 
that  the  text  was  printed  from  which  this  translation 
was  made. 

14.  Stael-Holstein,  Baron  de,  Correspondance  diplo- 
matique. Paris,  1 88 1.  Stael-Holstein  was  the  Swedish 
ambassador  at  the  French  court  in  1789.  He  was  the 
son-in-law  of  Necker,  his  wife  being  the  famous  Madame 
de  Stael.  On  account  of  his  wife,  he  was  naturally  a 
partisan  of  Necker's  and  not  in  sympathy  with  the  court 
intrigues  against  him.  The  extract  is  from  a  letter  written 
by  the  ambassador  to  the  king  of  Sweden.  The  original 
of  the  letter  is  in  the  archives  in  Stockholm. 

15.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance.  See  bibliography 
of  Problem  I. 

16.  Jefferson,  Thomas,  Memoirs \  Correspondence,  and 
Miscellanies  from  the  Papers  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Edited 
by  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph.  Second  edition,  Boston, 
1830.  Jefferson  was  the  minister  of  the  United  States 
of  America  to  the  French  court  in  1789.  He  was  in 
touch  with  the  leading  members  of  the  assembly  and  in 
position  to  secure  reliable  information. 

17.  Barante,  Lettres  et  instructions  de  Louis  XVIII. 
au  Comte  de  Saint-Priest,  precedees  d'une  notice  par  M.  de 
Barante.  Paris,  1845.  Concerning  the  material  upon 
which  this  notice  was  based,  Barante  wrote:  "In  the  last 
years  of  his  life  M.  de  Saint-Priest  (died  182 1)  began  to 
write  his  Memoires.  He  was  not  able  to  finish  them  nor 
to  revise  what  he  had  written.  His  family  did  not  con- 
sider these  fragments  in  form  for  publication;  we  have 
them  before  us  and  cannot  do  better  than  utilize  them  in 
writing  this  notice."     Nothing  in  Barante's  notice  in- 

75' 


The  French   Revolution 

dicates  that  the  particular  passage  which  we  quote  was 
taken  from  the  notes  of  Saint-Priest;  it  is,  however,  a 
natural  inference. 

C.   QUESTIONS   FOR  STUDY 

i.  How  many  of  the  witnesses  quoted  in  this  study  had  first- 
hand information  touching  the  council  meetings  which 
preceded  the  royal  session?  Concerning  the  events 
of  June  23d? 

2.  How  many  independent  witnesses  have  we  upon  the  council 

meetings  ?      Upon  the  royal  session  of  June  23d  ? 

3.  Compare  Necker's  account  of  1791  with  that  of  1795,  and 

show  how  they  differ.  Which  account  should  be  given 
the  preference,  and  why? 

4.  What  was  the  date  (day  of  the  month)  of  Necker's  letter  to 

the  king?    Of  Saint-Priest's  letter  to  the  king? 

5.  Compare  Necker's  account  of  the  councils  with  Barentin, 

and  show  how  they  differ.  Which  is  the  more  reliable, 
and  why? 

6.  How  does  the  contents  of   Necker's   letter  to   the  king 

harmonize  with  the  account  of  the  council  meetings 
found  in  the  work  written  in  1795?  With  that  written 
in  1791? 

7.  What  is  the  relation  of  Bailly's  Memoires  to  the  other  sources? 

What  is  its  value? 

8.  If  Barante  used  nothing  besides  the  notes  of  Saint-Priest  in 

writing  his  notice  upon  Saint-Priest,  how  valuable  would 
the  notice  be? 

9.  Is  the  Counter  de  Provence  dependent  upon  any  of  the  other 

sources? 

10.  Are  the  accounts  of  Necker  and  Barentin  independent  of 

each  other? 

11.  When  did  Necker  make  up  his  mind  to  propose  a  royal 

session  to  the  king? 

12.  Were  there  any  committee  meetings  before  the  council 

meetings? 

76 


The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,  1789 

13.  How  many  council  meetings  were  there,  when  and  where 

were  they  held,  who  was  present,  and  what  was  done? 

14.  What  was  the  nature  of  Necker's  original  plan? 

15.  Who  supported  it  and  who  opposed  it? 

16.  What  do  you  know  of  the  state  of  Versailles  on  the  morning 

of  June  23d — that  is,  of  the  external  setting  of  the  royal 


session 


17.  At  what  time  did  the  session  open,  and  how  long  did  it  last? 

18.  What  were  some  of  the  significant  things  that  happened  at 

the  hall  before  the  arrival  of  the  king? 

19.  How  was  the  king  received  on  his  arrival? 

20.  Make  an  analysis  of  the  speeches  and  declarations  showing 

the  attitude  of  the  king  toward  the  action  of  the  com- 
mons, on  June  17th,  toward  the  old  constitution,  tow- 
ard the  privileges  of  the  clergy  and  nobility,  toward 
the  control  of  the  government  by  the  estates  general, 
toward  the  right  of  the  estates  to  make  laws,  toward  the 
annual  or  periodical  meeting  of  the  estates,  toward 
publicity  of  debate,  freedom  of  the  press  and  of  the 
individual. 

21.  What  parts  of  the  speeches  and  declarations  would  be  ac- 

ceptable to  the  conservatives,  and  why? 

22.  What  parts  would  not  be  acceptable  to  the  commons,  and 

why? 

23.  What  parts  would  be  acceptable  to  all  progressive  men? 

24.  Upon  what  important  matter  are  the  declarations  silent? 

25.  What  was  the  criticism  of  the  members  of  the  commons  on 

the  session? 

26.  After  the  retirement  of  the  king,  who  remained  in  the  hall, 

and  why? 

27.  Why  did  not  the  delegates  in  the  hall  at  once  open  their 

session? 

28.  Determine,  if  you  can,  the  truth  about  the  workmen  in  the 

hall. 

29.  Describe  the  De  Br6z6  incident:   (a)  when  he  entered;   (b) 

to  whom  he  spoke;  (c)  what  he  said;  (d)  what  Bailly 
said  to  him;    (e)  whether  Bailly  or  De  Br£ze*  or  both 

77 


The  French  Revolution 

spoke  to  the  assembly;  (/)  what  they  said;  (g)  when 
Mirabeau  spoke;  (h)  what  he  said;  (j)  what  De  Breze 
finally  did. 
P30.  When  the  assembly  finally  went  into  session:  (a)  what 
motions  were  made;  (b)  by  whom;  (c)  in  what  order; 
(d)  what  was  said  in  debate,  and  by  whom;  and  (e)  what 
was  the  final  action  of  the  assembly? 

31.  Work  out  carefully  the  incident  of  Necker's  resignation: 

(a)  did  he  resign;  (b)  did  he  intend  to  be  present  at  the 
royal  session;  (c)  what  effect  had  the  report  of  his 
resignation;  (d)  what  did  the  king  do;  (e)  what  advan- 
tage did  Necker  draw  from  the  action  of  the  king; 
(/)  how  was  the  action  received  by  the  crowd  and  the 
deputies? 

32.  Was  the  royal  session  a  success? 

33.  Make  an  outline  and  write  a  narrative  on  the  royal  session. 


D.    The  Sources 

i.  (a)  Necker,  Sur  V  administration  de  M.  Necker  par 
lui-rneme,  107-115. 
The  debate  upon  the  verification  of  credentials 
continued  to  divide  the  three  orders,  and  now  there 

s  was  added  to  this  contest  a  still  more  violent  con- 
flict born  of  the  wish  of  the  commons  for  a  single 
national  assembly,  and  of  the  demands  of  the 
nobility  and  clergy  for  the  maintenance  of  the  de- 
liberations by  separate  orders.     All  hopes  of  con- 

10  ciliation  were  lost,  opinions  grew  ever  more  bitter, 
and  the  affairs  of  the  state  were  at  a  standstill. 
Good  citizens  grew  anxious  over  such  a  state  of 
stagnation,  and  among  partisans  some  hoped  that 
the  piling  up  of  difficulties  would  lead  to  the  dis- 

is  solution  of  the  states  general ;    others  that  this  state 
of  confusion  would  serve  as  a  pretext  for  the  de- 
cisive measures  which  they  were  impatient  to  em- 
ploy to  change  the  constitution  in  its  entirety. 
The  silence  and  inaction  of  the  monarch  in  such 

20  circumstances  would  have  shown  a  disregard  of 
propriety  and  dignity.     The  king  could  not  remain 

79 


The  French  Revolution 

indifferent  to  the  dangers  with  which  the  state  was 
menaced.  He  had  unavailingly  employed  the  media- 
tion of  his  ministers  to  open  the  road  to  conciliation, 
and  it  was  time  for  him  to  appear  in  some  other  way. 

s  I  believed  that  he  could  do  it  with  wisdom  if,  while 
reserving  to  the  two  first  orders  the  right  to  deliber- 
ate separately  upon  matters  peculiar  and  personal 
to  them,  he  obliged  them  to  unite  with  the  commons 
in  order  to  treat  as  a  single  body  the  general  interests 

io  of  the  nation,  and  especially  the  future  organization 
of  national  assemblies.  I  thought  that  at  the  same 
time  the  king  ought,  both  for  the  good  of  the  state 
and  for  his  own  policy,  to  confirm  in  an  authentic 
manner  his  acquiescence  in  all  the  important  mat- 

15  ters  announced  in  the  Resultat  du  conseil  of  Decem- 
ber 27,  1788,  that  he  should  extend  his  declaration 
still  further  and  thus  anticipate  the  wishes  of  the 
nation.  I  had  included  among  other  things,  in  this 
new  profession  of  his  beneficent  views,  the  admis- 

20  sion  of  all  citizens  to  civil  and  military  employment, 
the  destruction  of  the  rights  of  servitude,  in  imita- 
tion of  what  he  had  ordered  in  his  own  domains,  the 
authorization  of  their  purchase  for  money  and  some 
other  objects  of  a  similar  nature,  but  always  observ- 

25  ing  the  rules  of  the  most  exact  justice  toward  the 
proprietors.  Finally  the  king,  in  speaking  of  the 
new  constitution,  should  express  himself  solely  upon 
the  propriety  and  necessity  of  the  maintenance  of 
two  chambers,  and  in  other  respects  he  would  abide 

80 


The  Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

by  the  views  which  were  presented  to  him  by  the 
national  assembly. 

It  followed  from  the  ensemble  of  my  ideas  that 
the  king,  while  preserving  everything  which  pertained 

s  to  his  dignity  and  anticipating  with  prudence  the 
law  of  necessity,  would  render  the  states  general 
active,  would  serve  the  first  two  orders  by  giving 
them  the  means  of  renouncing  honorably  the  abso- 
lute system  they  had  embraced,  and  which  circum- 

10  stances  did  not  permit  them  to  maintain.  The  plan 
which  I  advised  was  without  doubt  difficult,  but 
one  was  necessary,  and  above  all  one  which  would 
finally  unite  the  orders  in  a  single  assembly  and  put 
an  end  in  a  regular  or,  at  least,  in  a  peaceable  way  to 

15  the  state  of  division  which  at  any  moment  might 
lead  to  the  gravest  misfortunes.  Finally,  I  had 
accompanied  the  suggested  articles  making  up  this 
project  by  everything  which  might  favor  the  success 
of  them  in  public  opinion;    but  to  form  a  correct 

20  opinion  of  them  to  -  day  it  would  be  necessary  to 
be  able  to  transport  oneself  by  memory  to  the 
period  at  the  beginning  of  June,  1789;  it  would  be 
necessary  to  recall  to  mind  exactly  the  uncertainty 
and  the  agitation,  the  fears  and  the  hopes,  finally 

25  the  general  state  of  opinion  at  this  period,  not  far 
removed  from  the  opening  of  the  states  general; 
but  it  would  be  difficult  to  draw  the  picture  of  it 
at  the  moment  when  a  series  of  events  has  carried 
things  much  farther  than  the  first  step  which  I  ad- 

81 


The  French  Revolution 

vised  would  have  done.  It  is  necessary  to  pardon 
the  two  first  orders,  or  those  who  acted  for  them  at 
court,  for  having  shown  so  much  irritation  against 
a  project  which,  with  more   foresight,  they  would 

5  have  found  very  wise.  I  had  only  one  moment  of 
hope;  it  was  when  I  presented  to  the  council  the 
ensemble  of  my  ideas,  and  when  the  king  listened 
favorably  to  them,  for  soon  I  was  attacked  from 
every  point  of  view.     The  necessity  of  some  action 

io  on  the  part  of  the  king  was  universally  agreed  to, 
but  it  was  desired  that  he  should  act  in  an  entirely 
different  spirit ;  and  little  by  little,  while  appearing  to 
retain  a  part  of  my  plan,  everything  composing  its 
essence  was  cut  out,  everything  which  might  render 

is  it  agreeable  to  the  commons.  They  took  here  and 
there  some  of  my  phrases,  at  the  beginning  and  at 
the  end;  but  by  a  remarkable  singularity  the  firm 
and  lofty  tone  which  was  fitting  when  the  monarch 
instructed  the  first  two  orders  to  unite  with  the 

20  commons  to  work  for  the  welfare  of  the  public,  they 
believed  equally  applicable  to  a  plan  the  spirit  of 
which  was  absolutely  different,  and  that  was  a  great 
blunder. 

I  defended  my  idea,  and  I  combated  the  new  ones 

25  with  the  greatest  force;  I  resisted  courageously  the 
opinions  of  the  princes  called  to  this  discussion,  and 
after  having  conserved  to  the  last  moment  the  hope 
of  making  reason  triumph  I  finally  considered  the 
part  remaining  for  me  to  take  personally;  and  after 

82 


The  Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

mature  examination,  after  many  mental  struggles, 
which  the  gravity  of  the  circumstances  authorized, 
I  did  not  believe  that  I  could  honorably  either  go 
to  the  session  of  June  23d  or  remain  longer  in  the 

s  ministry.  The  position  in  which  I  found  myself 
was  quite  as  painful  as  it  was  embarrassing,  and  I 
must  confess  that  on  the  morning  of  that  memorable 
day  my  uneasiness  still  continued,  and  if  I  did  not 
inform  the  king  of  my  final  determination  it  was 

10  because  I  feared  to  receive  positive  orders  which 
I  could  not  possibly  have  obeyed.  .  .  . 

I  resisted  the  advice  of  many  enlightened  persons 
who,  more  in  touch  than  I  with  the  court  and  its 
intrigues,  urged  me  to  retire,  assuring   me  that  it 

is  would  not  be  long  before  I  would  be  the  victim  of 
the  influence  of  the  persons  whose  counsels  had  pre- 
vailed over  mine  on  so  grave  and  important  an 
occasion. 

I  resisted  likewise  the  insinuations  of  those  who 

20  considered  my  retirement  as  the  epoch  of  a  great 
revolution  and  tried  to  make  me  understand  that 
such  a  determination  on  my  part  could  not  fail  to 
be  followed  by  a  brilliant  triumph. 

These  same  efforts  were  repeated  with  me,  but  in 

25  vain,  when  the  inutility  of  my  efforts  to  force  the 
retirement  of  the  ministers,  whose  opposition  to  my 
projects  was  openly  pronounced,  became  known. 
My  intimate  friends  will  do  me  the  justice  to  recog- 
nize that  I  was  perfectly  conscious  of  the  dangers 

83 


The  French   Revolution 

by  which  I  was  surrounded.  These  dangers  even 
were  not  new,  as  for  a  long  time  I  had  lived  in  the 
midst  of  disturbing  circumstances  of  every  kind. 
I  saw  also  the  extreme  crisis  in  which  we  found  our- 

s  selves  in  the  matter  of  food  supply,  and  I  saw  it  so 
clearly  that  on  returning  to  my  lodgings,  in  the 
evening  of  June  23  d,  followed  by  the  applause  of  the 
multitude,  I  said  with  emotion  to  the  little  group  of 
friends  gathered  in  my  study :  "  I  remain.  .  .  .  But  you 

10  see  these  people  and  the  benedictions  they  shower  upon 
me;  very  well,  before  two  weeks,  perhaps,  they  will 
shower  me  with  stones." 

(b)  Necker,  De  la  revolution  frangaise,  I,  284-290. 
It  was,  as  I  have  said,  at  a  time  when  the  inter- 

15  ference  of  the  monarch  in  the  states  general  appeared 
indispensable,  and  at  a  time  when  all  ideas,  still 
vacillating,  kept  the  government  in  anxiety,  that 
formed  the  project  of  a  royal  session.  I  hastened 
to  communicate  my  ideas  to  the  ministers  who  voted 

20  in  the  most  intelligent  manner,  and  they  gave  them 
a  support  which  bordered  upon  enthusiasm.  They 
found  the  idea  courageous,  the  procedure  prudent, 
and  they  told  me  so,  they  repeated  it  to  me  in  a  hun- 
dred different  ways.     There  were   afterward  regu- 

2s  lar  committee  meetings  with  the  king,  where  the 
whole  affair  was  discussed,  and  a  full  and  entire 
approbation  on  the  part  of  the  prince  was  joined 
to  the  then  unanimous  opinion  of  his  ministers. 
A  council  of  state  was  fixed  for  the  last  reading,  and 

84 


The   Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

this  council  was  held  at  Marly,  whither  the  king  had 
just  gone.  The  reading  took  place;  one  or  two 
ministers  made  observations  upon  details  of  the 
plan,  but  without  importance;  and,  an  almost  per- 
s  feet  agreement  of  opinions  having  reigned  during  the 
sitting  of  the  council,  it  occupied  itself  with  meas- 
ures of  execution,  considered  whether  there  would 
be  need  for  more  than  twenty-four  hours  for  the  prep- 
aration of  the  hall  where  the  royal  majesty  was  to 

10  be  displayed,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  great 
haste  was  unanimously  agreed  upon.  It  only  re- 
mained to  fix  the  day,  and  the  next  day  but  one  was 
almost  agreed  upon.  A  last  word  of  the  king  was 
ending  the  council,  and  the  portfolios  were  already 

is  being  closed,  when  an  officer  of  the  king's  household 
entered  unexpectedly;  he  approached  the  seat  of 
the  king,  spoke  to  him  in  a  low  tone,  and  his  majesty 
immediately  arose,  commanding  his  ministers  to 
remain  in  their  places  and  await  his  return.   This 

20  message,  at  the  moment  when  the  council  was  nearly 
at  an  end,  could  not  but  surprise  us  all.  M.  de 
Montmorin,  seated  by  me,  said  to  me  immediately: 
"We  have  accomplished  nothing;  the  queen  alone 
would  be  permitted  to  interrupt  the  council  of  state ; 

as  the  princes  have  apparently  won  her  over  and  wish 
to  put  off  the  decision  of  the  king  through  her  media- 
tion." This  presumption  of  M.  de  Montmorin  was 
only  too  natural,  for  already  confused  rumors  had 
announced  that  the  journey  to  Marly  had  been  de- 
7  85 


The   French   Revolution 

cided  upon  that  the  king  might  be  controlled  more 
easily  and  the  plans  of  the  ministry  combated  in  his 
mind.  Yet  I  doubted  these  reports,  and,  as  had 
often  happened  to  me,  trusted  to  the  force  of  reason 

s  the  care  of  combating  and  obviating  all  these  efforts 
of  the  court,  that  others  called  intrigues,  believing 
that  I  knew  well  both  their  first  causes  and  their 
first  motives. 

The  king  re-entered  the  council  chamber  after  a 

io  half -hour's  absence,  and,  postponing  the  deliberation 
with  which  we  had  just  been  occupied  until  a  first 
meeting  of  the  council  of  state,  he  suspended  his  de- 
cision, his  orders,  and  everything  was  at  a  standstill. 
He  was,  however,  told  of  the  difficulties  that  would 

is  arise  without  fail  from  this  delay ;  it  was  represented 
to  him  that  the  rumor  of  a  division  among  the  persons 
admitted  to  his  confidence  would  weaken  the  ascend- 
ency of  his  authority;  [we  even]  ventured  to  warn 
him  that  in  the  midst  of  the  public  fermentation 

;o  hesitations  and  uncertainties  would  multiply  sus- 
picions and  would  also  give  to  party  leaders  all  the 
time  necessary  to  prepare  a  redoubtable  opposition. 
The  king  persisted  in  his  determination.  The  new 
council  of  state  was  held  two  days  after  at  Versailles, 

25  and  his  majesty  judged  it  fitting  to  call  there  not 
only  his  ordinary  ministers,  but  also  the  two  princes, 
his  brothers,  and  four  magistrates  who  had  never 
had  a  seat  in  the  council. 

We  saw  at  once  that  a  plan  had  been  formed  to 

86 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

defeat  our  measures  and  to  attack  the  project 
adopted  by  the  ministry  and  approved  by  his  maj- 
esty. Secret  conferences  had  been  held,  the  king 
had  been  worked  upon,  and  already  his  opinion  ap- 

s  peared  changed.  It  was  principally  the  union  of  the 
orders  that  they  wished  to  prevent.  I  believe  that 
I  have  shown  its  expediency  and  necessity,  so  I  will 
not  recall  the  arguments  that  I  employed  to  plead 
this  cause.     The  ministers  then  in  office,  most  dis- 

10  tinguished  by  their  intellect  and  wisdom,  sustained 
me  with  firmness,  and  at  first  only  an  uncertain 
advantage  was  gained  over  us.  The  king  decided 
only,  that  to  find  a  means  of  conciliating  the  different 
views  discussed  in  his  presence  they  should  reassem- 

is  ble  at  the  house  of  the  guard  of  the  seals,  and  one 
of  the  magistrates  called  to  the  council  by  way  of 
exception  was  charged  to  consult  with  me  more  par- 
ticularly. We  saw  one  another.  I  yielded  upon 
everything  that  was  not  an  absolute  necessity  in  my 

20  eyes ;  and  yet  each  one  of  these  compliances  was 
painful  to  me,  although  I  was  persuaded  that  the 
fault  of  my  project  was  its  too  great  boldness  under 
the  circumstances.  We  separated  after  a  detailed 
discussion,  which  ended  by  an  entire  accord.     He 

25  appeared  to  me  fully  persuaded  that  no  other  change 
could  be  asked  without  changing  the  nature  of  the 
project,  and  I  believed  for  the  second  time  that 
everything  was  ended.  I  was  mistaken.  So  much 
was  done,  and  always  on  the  same  side,  that  in  a 

87 


The     French  Revolution 

period  of  twice  twenty-four  hours,  and  on  the  eve  of 
the  royal  session,  the  king  was  prevailed  upon  not 
to  require  the  reunion  of  the  orders,  not  to  require 
it  under  any  condition,  and  to  adopt  a  system  abso- 
s  lutely  opposed. 
(c)  Necker,  Letter  to  Louis  XVI. 

Sire, — I  have  the  honor  to  address  to  your  Maj- 
esty a  note  by  the  person  whom  I  named  to  the 
King  yesterday  under  the  seal  of  secrecy.     I  have 

io  been  led  to  see  some  inconveniences  connected 
with  a  royal  session  which  I  had  not  noted  before, 
and  it  is  believed  that  a  simple  letter  of  invitation 
(a  letter  inviting  the  orders  to  unite  for  the  purpose 
of  deliberating  in  common,  at  least  on  some  matters) 

15  would  be  better;  but  there  is  not  a  moment  to  lose. 

I  will  explain  myself  more  in  detail  to  his  Majesty, 

if  he  sees  fit  to  give  me  his  orders. 

I  have  the  honor,   etc., 

e  J    j  Signed:    Necker. 

20     Saturday. 

2.  Barentin,  Memoir e  autographe,  175-230. 

His  majesty,  then  at  Marly,  where  he  was  to  re- 
main, as  well  as  the  queen,  until  the  following  Sun- 
day morning,  notified  the  ministers,  Thursday,  the 
25  1 8th,  of  a  council  to  be  held  the  next  day  at  noon. 
He  ordered  me  to  notify  the  four  councilors  of  state, 
composing  the  commission  of  the  states  general,  to 
be  present.  .  ,  .  All  being  assembled  at  Marly  in  the 

88 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

king's  study,  the  decree  of  the  17th  was  read.  It 
was  generally  disapproved  of,  and  it  was  agreed  that 
it  was  impossible  to  let  it  stand.  While  we  were 
considering   means    of    action   M.   Necker,   always 

s  desirous  of  taking  the  initiative,  asked  permission  of 
the  king  to  present  two  projects  of  declarations  that 
he  had  prepared  in  advance,  in  case  that  his  maj- 
esty should  judge  proper  to  hold  a  session;  he  had 
added  the  different  speeches  that  he  proposed  to 

10  have  the  king  deliver.  .  .  .  The  time  passed  in  the 
midst  of  these  animated  discussions;  it  was  four 
o'clock;  the  matter  called  for  the  most  mature  con- 
sideration. His  majesty  adjourned  the  council 
until  the  next  day,  Saturday,  at  five  o'clock,  and  in- 

15  structed  M.  de  la  Galaisiere  to  give  an  account  in 

the  council  of  the  two  projects,  which  he  turned  over 

to  him.     It  was  simply  decided  that  the  king  should 

hold  a  session  Monday,  the  2  2d,  in  the  large  hall.  .  .  . 

M.  de  la  Galaisiere,  in  preparing  his  report,  dis- 

ao  covered  a  pitfall  adroitly  arranged  to  prepare  the 
destruction  of  the  orders.  In  the  grouping  of  his 
plan  the  minister  had  divided  the  objects  into  two 
classes.  The  first  contained  those  susceptible  of 
deliberation  by  order;    the  second  embraced  those 

25  upon  which  the  deliberation  would  be  in  common. 
He  had  placed  in  this  last,  in  few  words  and  in  a  way 
not  to  attract  attention,  the  organization  of  the 
future  states  general.  .  .  .  The  reporter  made  known 
to  me  Saturday  morning  his  discovery.  ...  It  ap- 

89 


The   French   Revolution 

peared  too  important  to  us  to  allow  him  not  to  men- 
tion it  that  evening  at  the  council  meeting.  He 
spoke  of  it  calmly,  furnishing  M.  Necker  the  means 
of  escaping  from  the  bad  position  which  he  had 

s  taken.  In  fact,  M.  de  la  Galaisiere  assumed  that 
the  place  assigned  to  this  article  in  the  list  of  com- 
mon deliberations,  when  it  evidently  pertained  to 
those  by  order,  could  be  due  only  to  a  mistake  of  the 
copyist  which  had  escaped  the  eye  of  the  minister, 

io  an  error  easily  repaired  by  putting  the  article  where 
it  belonged.  The  turn  was  ingenious,  and  the  king 
caught  it  without,  however,  being  deceived  as  to  the 
intention  of  the  redacteur  of  the  project,  for  he  made 
a  movement  of  impatience  and   discontent.     The 

15  director  general  noted  it,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
making  use  of  the  subterfuge  offered  him,  but  a 
sudden  second  thought  made  him  see  that  in  yield- 
ing his  plan,  based  upon  the  confusion  of  the  orders, 
would  be  ruined  completely.     He  insisted,  with  a 

20  tenacity  which  astonished  us,  that  the  place  of  the 
article  should  not  be  changed.  This  insistence  dis- 
pleased the  king.  With  a  display  of  vivacity  he 
took  the  paper  from  the  hands  of  the  reporter,  struck 
out  the  article,  and  wrote  it  in  the  list  of  those  rela- 

25  tive  to  vote  by  order.  .  .  .  M.  Necker  proposed  "for 
this  time,  and  without  establishing  a  precedent,  to 
prescribe  deliberation  by  head."  I  asserted  that 
such  a  disposition,  even  for  one  time  and  without 
establishing  a  precedent,  would  violate  the  forms 

go 


The   Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

introduced  at  the  birth  of  the  monarchy.  ...  I  was 
supported  by  MM.  de  Villedeuil,  de  Puysegur,  and 
by  the  councilors  of  state.  Another  article  stated 
"that  one  could  attain  to  all  civil  and  military  em- 

s  ployments  without  regard  to  class  distinction."  .  .  . 
The  king  himself  on  hearing  this  article  had  blamed 
M.  Necker  with  firmness  for  having  spoken  of  the 
army  of  which  he  was  the  sole  master,  and  of  which 
he  could  dispose  at  pleasure.  ...  It  should  not  be 

10  forgotten  that  the  motive  of  the  meeting  of  the  coun- 
cil, the  determination  to  hold  a  royal  session,  the 
content  of  the  two  groups  of  laws  we  were  consider- 
ing, were  due  to  the  deliberation  of  June  17th,  by 
which  the  third  estate  had  declared  itself  a  national 

15  assembly.  It  ought  to  be  expected,  then,  that  the 
king,  being  no  longer  able  to  mistake  the  veritable 
intentions  of  this  culpable  order,  would  recall  them 
to  obedience,  would  scourge  with  merited  qualifica- 
tions a  bold,  illegal,  and  unconstitutional  act.     No, 

20  M.  Necker,  always  inclined  to  partiality,  always  de- 
cided not  to  displease  men  emboldened  by  his  pro- 
tection, forgot  himself  to  the  extent  of  attempting 
to  palliate,  to  excuse  their  crimes.  He  did  not  go 
to  the  extent  of  annulling  their  decree,  he  contented 

25  himself  with  proposing  "to  declare  [the  royal  pur- 
pose], overlooking  the  acts  of  June  17th."  [Baren- 
tin  took  the  other  side.  He  described  the  meeting 
of  the  tennis  court,  then  taking  place.]  The  session 
was  not  over  when  I  left  Versailles;   if  we  are  igno- 

91 


The  French   Revolution 

rant  of  the  end  of  it,  it  is  only  too  probable  that  it 
will  be  a  new  outrage  for  the  royal  majesty Every- 
thing, then,  commands  to  annul,  with  fitting  quali- 
fications,  the  deliberation  of  June   17  th  and  that 

s  which  has  followed  it.  .  .  .  The  king,  calm  during  the 
whole  of  this  discussion,  did  not  lose  a  word  of  it. 
It  was  so  prolonged  that  at  ten  o'clock  his  majesty 
had  not  yet  begun  to  get  the  expression  of  opinion 
which  decided  him  to  postpone  the  council  until 

10  the  next  day,  Sunday,  at  five  o'clock,  at  Versailles, 
to  which  he  was  to  transfer  his  residence.  He  ob- 
served that,  as  nothing  was  settled,  it  was  necessary 
to  postpone  the  session  twenty-four  hours,  and  set 
it  for  Tuesday,  the  23d,  in  order  to  give  more  exact 

15  form  and  more  attention  to  the  redaction  [of  the 
declarations]. 

When  we  met  Sunday  in  the  king's  apartments, 
we  learned  that  he  had  just  summoned  his  brothers 
and  that  he  was  with  them  in  his  room.     After  a 

20  conference  of  half  an  hour  they  all  came  in  together, 
and  the  king  announced  that  the  two  princes  would 
take  part  in  the  council.  M.  Lambert,  councilor 
of  state  and  member  of  the  council  of  despatches, 
was  also  called.     He  had  not  been  present  at  Marly. 

25  The  princes  had  not  been  present  at  the  previous 
councils.  .  .  . 

The  princes  not  having  been  present  at  the  previ- 
ous councils,  it  became  necessary  to  repeat  all  that 
had  been  said  and  done.     The  reporter  made  a  very 

92 


The   Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

clear  resume  of  it;  on  both  sides  each  defended  his 
opinion  with  that  force  inspired  by  the  strong  con- 
viction of  the  peril  involved  in  adopting  any  other. 
.  .  .  M.  Necker  ended  by  testifying  his  fear  touching 

s  the  proposed  changes.  ' '  It  will  change  the  laws  to  such 

an  extent,"  he  cried,  ''that  it  would  be  better  to  reject 

them  than  to  adopt  them  disfigured  and  mutilated." 

M.  de  Montmorin,  .   .   .   closely  allied  with  M. 

Necker,  thought  only  of  flying  to  his  aid. 

10  MM.  de  la  Luzerne  and  de  Saint-Priest  seconded, 
it  is  true,  the  errors  of  the  minister  of  finance,  but 
they  did  it  dispassionately  and  in  very  gentlemanly 
language.  .  .  .  With  the  exception  of  M.  Necker  and 
the  three  ministers  who  thought  as  he  did,  all  the 

is  members  of  the  council  were  of  one  opinion.  The 
king  adopted  that  of  the  majority. . . .  Before  adjourn- 
ing the  council  the  king  instructed  me  to  reformulate 
the  matter,  with  the  aid  of  the  four  councilors,  and, 
for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  the  reading  of  it,  set 

20  a  council  meeting  for  the  next  day  at  five  o'clock. 

The  royal  session  was  definitely  set  for  June  23d.  .  .  . 

Our    work    was    finished    Monday    morning.     I 

wanted  M.  Necker  to  see  it  before  it  was  presented 

to  the  council.  .  .  .     [M.  Vidaud  de  la  Tour,  one  of 

25  the  councilors,  was  sent  to  lay  the  reorganized  ma- 
terial before  Necker.]  M.  Necker  received  him 
haughtily  and  treated  him  coldly.  He  hardly  lis- 
tened to  the  two  declarations,  and  made  no  observa- 
tions.    At  the  opening  of  the  council  (June  2 2d)  I 

93 


The   French   Revolution 

presented  a  summary  of  the  original  projects  and 
the  changes  ordered  by  the  king,  and  the  manner 
in  which  we  had  executed  his  orders.     The  two  laws 
were  read  and  approved  by  his  majesty.     M.  Necker 
5  said  nothing  or  very  little.  .  .  .  He  [Necker]  insisted 
that  the  meetings  of  states  general  should  be  periodic ; 
we  insisted  with  equal  force  that  they  should  not  be. 
Assemblies  at  fixed  periods  amounted  to  the  abandon- 
ment, on  the  part  of  the   monarch,  of  the   royal 
io  prerogative  to  convoke  and  dissolve  the  states  gen- 
eral;  we   considered   it   indispensable   to    conserve 
it.  .  .  .  The  councils  at  Marly  were  not  preceded  by 
committee  meetings  relative  to  the  declarations  of 
June  23d.  .  .  .  The  council  was  nearing  its  end  when 
is  his  majesty,  who  had  received  a  whispered  message, 
withdrew,  asking  us  to  wait.  .  .  .  When  the  king  with- 
drew he  had  not  yet  reached  a  decision.  .  .  .  His 
majesty,  on  his  return,  adjourned  the  council  until 
the  next  day,  Sunday,  and  not  for  two  days,  as  is 
20  alleged  by  the  minister  of  finance.    At  the  same  time 
the  royal  session  was  changed  from  the  2 2d  to  the 
23d.  .  .  .  M.  Necker  had  intended  to  be  present  at 
the  session,  and  his  carriage  waited  a  long  time  in 
the  court.  .  .  .  Madame  Necker  dismissed  the  ear- 
as  riage,  and  Necker  did  not  go  out. 
3.  Saint-Priest,  Letter  to  Louis  XVI.,  without  place 
or  date. 
Sire, — Your  Majesty  deigned  to  ask  me  yester- 
day my  opinion  upon  the  project  presented  by  M. 

94 


The  Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

Necker,  and  more  especially  upon  the  proposition 
to  order  the  first  two  orders  to  unite  with  the  third 
to  vote  by  head  upon  matters  that  do  not  interest 
each  order  in  particular,  and  upon  some  other  re- 

s  served  points.  Your  brothers  were  of  a  contrary 
opinion,  and  held  that  the  constitution  of  the  king- 
dom should  not  be  altered  in  any  way,  a  principle 
that  they  applied  to  the  form  of  voting  under  dis- 
cussion. ...  I  will  not  conceal  from  Your  Majesty 

10  the  fear  that  I  have  that  the  third  estate,  aroused 
as  it  is,  will  reject,  for  the  vote  by  head,  these  reserva- 
tions, so  just,  that  are  placed  upon  it;  I  fear  even 
that  they  will  murmur  at  the  sovereign  interference 
of  Your  Majesty  at  this  time,  such  appears  to  me  to 

is  be  the  feeling  of  the  third  estate,  which  has  already 
led  it  to  exceed  the  limits  of  its  instructions  and  of 
justice.  .  .  .  We  are  only  four  ministers  of  state,  men 
of  age  and  experience,  trained  in  considering  both 
the  domestic  and  the  foreign  affairs  of  the  kingdom, 

20  and  our  opinions  are  unanimous  in  favor  of  the  prop- 
osition made  by  one  of  us. 
4.  Montmorin,  Letter  to  the  king. 

Versailles,  June  22,  1789. 
Sire, — The  object  upon  which  Your  Majesty  is 

25  going  to  decide  finally  this  morning  is  so  important, 
the  decision  He  is  going  to  take  may  have  such  far- 
reaching  consequences,  that  my  attachment  for  the 
person  of  Your  Majesty  forces  me  to  place  them 
again  before  his  eyes  in  advance  of  the  moment 

95 


The   French   Revolution 

when  He  is  to  make  his  final  decision.  ...  It  is  un- 
der these  circumstances  that  it  is  proposed  to  Your 
Majesty  to  maintain  with  a  firm  hand  the  old  con- 
stitution. ...  I  am  certainly  very  far  from  approving 

s  or  excusing  the  conduct  of  the  third  estate;  no  one 
in  the  world  condemns  it  more  than  I  do  and  is 
more  afflicted  by  it;  but,  however  extravagant  and 
however  condemnable  it  may  be,  the  public  judges 
it  quite  differently.     Supported  by  this  opinion,  the 

io  third  estate  will  not  abandon  the  defense  it  has 
constructed ;  it  will  grow  more  bitter  against  the  first 
two  orders;  it  will  disobey  the  orders  of  Your  Maj- 
esty, and  He  will  have  compromised  his  authority 
uselessly.     He  will  be  forced  to  dissolve  the  states 

is  general,  and  Your  Majesty  has  seen  what  would  be 
the  consequences  of  it;  perhaps,  even,  the  third  es- 
tate would  not  allow  itself  to  be  dissolved.  From 
that  time  disorder  and  trouble  would  be  at  their 
height,  and  Your  Majesty  has  seen  what  means  re- 

20  main  with  which  to  repress  them.     The  plan  that 
has  been  proposed  to  Your  Majesty  is  noble,  grand, 
and  it  seems  to  me  the  only  one  worthy  of  the  char- 
acter and  kindness  of  Your  Majesty. 
5.  Procds-verbal,  No.   5. 

25  CONTINUATION    OF    THE    MINUTES    OF    THE    NATIONAL 

ASSEMBLY 

Tuesday,  June  23,  i78g,  eleven  A.M. 
The  session  held  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  the 

96 


The   Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

clergy,  and  the  nobility  being  united  in  the  nation- 
al hall. 

The  king  having  entered,   delivered  a  discourse 
announcing  the  object  of  the  session.     He  then  had 

5  read  by  one  of  the  secretaries  of  state  a  declaration, 
containing  various  provisions,  in  fifteen  articles, 
given  at  Versailles,  the  23d  of  June. 

After  the  reading  of  this  declaration  the  king  de- 
livered a  second  discourse,  which  was  followed  by 

10  the  reading,  by  one  of  the  secretaries  of  state,  of  a 
second  declaration,  announced  as  the  M  Declaration 
of  the  Wishes  of  the  King."  It  contained  thirty- 
five  articles,  and  was  likewise  given  at  Versailles, 
the  23d  of  June. 

is      The  king  delivered  a  third  discourse  and  retired. 
A  short  time  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  king,  a 
part  of  the  clergy  and  nobility  having  retired,  the 
grand  master  of  ceremonies  approached  the  presi- 
dent and  told  him  that  he  had  heard  the  order  of 

20  the  king  to  retire.  The  president  replied  to  him 
that  he  could  not  separate  the  assembly,  as  it  had 
not  deliberated  freely  upon  the  subject.  The  grand 
master  of  ceremonies  said  that  he  was  going  to  give 
an  account  of  this  reply  to  the  king. 

as  The  assembly,  deliberating  after  the  royal  session, 
passed  the  following  resolutions: 

"The  national  assembly  unanimously  declares  its 
intention  to  persist  in  its  preceding  resolutions." 
"The  national  assembly  declares  that  the  person 

97 


The  French   Revolution 

of  each  of  the  deputies  is  inviolable;  that  all  in- 
dividuals, all  corporations,  tribunal,  court,  or  com- 
mission that  shall  dare,  during  or  after  the  present 
session,  to  pursue,  to  seek  for,  to  arrest  or  have 
s  arrested,  detain  or  have  detained,  a  deputy,  by  rea- 
son of  any  propositions,  advice,  opinions,  or  discourse 
made  by  him  in  the  states  general;  as  well  as  all 
persons  who  shall  lend  their  aid  to  any  of  the  said 
attempts,  by  whomsoever  they  may  be  ordered,  are  in- 

io  famous  and  traitors  to  the  nation,  and  guilty  of  capital 
crime.  The  national  assembly  decrees  that  in  the 
aforesaid  cases  it  will  take  all  the  necessary  meas- 
ures to  have  sought  out,  pursued,  and  punished  those 
who  may  be  its  authors,  instigators,  or  executors." 

15  Moreover,  the  assembly  adjourned  the  session 
until  to-morrow  at  nine  o'clock. 

These  resolutions  were  passed  in  the  presence  of 
several  of  the  clergy.  Those  whose  credentials  were 
verified  gave  their  votes  and  their  opinions ;  and  the 

20  others  asked  that  mention  be  made  of  their  presence. 
Bailly,   President;    Camus,  Secretary;    Pison  du 
Galland,  Jr.,  Secretary. 

6.  Seance  tenue  par  le  rot  aux  Mats  g£neraux,  le  23 
Juin,  178Q. 

25  DISCOURSE  OF  THE  KING 

Gentlemen, — I  believed  that  I  had  done  every- 
thing in  my  power  for  the  good  of  my  people,  when 
I  had  taken  the  resolution  to  call  you  together;  when 

98 


The   Royal   Session  of  June    23,  1789 

I  had  surmounted  all  the  difficulties  with  which 
your  convocation  was  surrounded ;  when  I  had  gone 
half-way,  <so  to  speak,  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the 
nation,  by  showing  beforehand  what  I  wished  to  do 

s  for  its  happiness. 

It  seemed  as  though  you  had  only  to  finish  my 
work,  and  the  nation  awaited  with  impatience  the 
moment  wnen  by  conjuncture  of  the  beneficent  views 
of  its  sovereign  and  the  intelligent  zeal  of  its  repre- 

10  sentatives,  it  was  going  to  enjoy  the  prosperity  that 
this  union  procures  for  it. 

The  states  general  have  been  in  session  for  nearly 
two  months,  and  they  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
come  to  an  understanding  upon  the  preliminaries 

is  of  their  operations.  A  perfect  intelligence  ought  to 
have  been  born  from  mere  love  of  country,  and  a 
baneful  division  fills  all  minds  with  alarm.  I  wish 
to  believe  and  I  like  to  think  that  the  French  are 
not  changed.     But,   to  avoid   reproaching  any  of 

20  you,  I  assume  that  the  renewing  of  the  states  general, 
after  so  long  a  term,  the  agitation  which  preceded 
it,  the  object  of  this  convocation,  so  different  from 
that  which  brought  your  ancestors  together,  the 
limitations  in  the  instructions,  and  many  other  cir- 

25  cumstances,  were  bound  necessarily  to  induce  op- 
position, debates,  and  exaggerated  pretensions. 

I  owe  it  to  the  common  good  of  my  kingdom,  I 
owe  it  to  myself  to  cause  these  baneful  divisions  to 
cease.     It  is  with  this  resolution,  gentlemen,  that  I 

99 


The  French   Revolution 

assemble  you  again  about  me;  it  is  as  the  common 
father  of  all  my  subjects,  as  the  defender  of  the  laws 
of  my  kingdom,  that  I  come  to  trace  again  their 
true  spirit  and  repress  the  attacks  which  have  been 

s  aimed  at  them. 

But,  gentlemen,  after  having  clearly  established 
the  respective  rights  of  the  different  orders,  I  expect 
with  the  love  of  country  of  the  first  two  orders,  I 
expect  with  their  attachment  for  my  person,  I  ex- 

io  pect  with  the  knowledge  that  they  have  of  the 
urgent  evils  of  the  state,  that  in  affairs  which  con- 
cern the  general  good  they  will  be  the  first  to  pro- 
pose a  union  of  opinion  and  sentiment,  which  I  re- 
gard as  necessary  in  the  actual  crisis,  which  ought 

is  to  effect  the  safety  of  the  state. 

Declaration  of  the  King  concerning  the  Present  Session 
of  the  States  General,  June  2j,  ij8q 


The  king  wishes  that  the  ancient  distinction  of 
20  the  three  orders  of  the  state  be  preserved  in  its  en- 
tirety, as  essentially  linked  to  the  constitution  of  his 
kingdom;  that  the  deputies,  freely  elected  by  each 
of  the  three  orders,  forming  three  chambers,  delib- 
erating by  order,  and  being  able,  with  the  approval 
25  of  the  sovereign,  to  agree  to  deliberate  in  common, 
can  alone  be  considered  as  forming  the  body  of  the 
representatives  of  the  nation.     As  a  result,  the  king 

1 00 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,    1789 

has  declared  null  the  resolutions  passed  by  the 
deputies  of  the  order  of  the  third  estate,  the  17  th  of 
this  month,  and  likewise  illegal  and  unconstitutional 
those  which  followed  them. 

5  11 

His  majesty  declares  valid  all  the  credentials  veri- 
fied or  to  be  verified  in  each  chamber,  upon  which 
there  has  not  been  raised  nor  will  be  raised  any  con- 
test ;  his  majesty  orders  that  these  be  communicated 
xo  by  each  order  respectively  to  the  other  two  orders. 
As  for  the  credentials  which  might  be  contested 
in  each  order,  and  upon  which  the  parties  interested 
would  appeal,  it  will  be  enacted,  for  the  present 
session  only  of  the  states  general,  as  will  be  nere- 
is after  ordered. 

in 

The  king  sets  aside  and  annuls,  as  anti-constitu- 
tional, contrary  to  the  letters  of  convocation,  and 
opposed  to  the  interest  of  the  state,  the  limitations 
20  of  instructions  which,  by  embarrassing  the  liberty  of 
the  deputies  to  the  states  general,  would  prevent 
them  from  adopting  the  forms  of  deliberation  taken 
separately  by  order  or  in  common,  by  the  distinct 
wish  of  the  three  orders. 

25  IV 

If,  contrary  to  the  intention  of  the  king,  some  of 
the  deputies  have  taken  the  rash  vow  not  to  deviate 
8  101 


The  French   Revolution 

from  any  form  of  deliberation  whatever,  his  majesty 
leaves  it  to  their  conscience  to  consider  whether  the 
provisions  that  he  is  going  to  present  deviate  from 
the  letter  or  from  the  spirit  of  the  promise  that  they 
5  may  have  taken. 


The  king  permits  the  deputies  who  believe  that 
they  are  embarrassed  by  their  instructions  to  ask 
their  constituents  for  new  credentials ;  but  his  maj- 
io  esty  enjoins  them  to  remain  in  the  states  general 
while  waiting,  in  order  to  be  present  at  all  the  de- 
liberations upon  the  pressing  affairs  of  the  state 
and  to  give  consultative  advice. 

VI 

is  His  majesty  declares  that  in  the  following  sessions 
of  the  states  general  he  will  never  suffer  the  cahiers 
or  the  instructions  to  be  considered  imperative; 
they  should  be  only  simple  instructions  confided  to 
the  conscience  and  free  opinion  of  the  deputies  who 

20  may  have  been  chosen. 

VII 

His  majesty  having  exhorted  the  three  orders,  for 

the  safety  of  the  state,  to  unite  during  this  session 

of  estates  only,  to  deliberate  in  common  upon  affairs 

25  of   general  utility,   wishes  to  make  his  intentions 

known  upon  the  manner  of  procedure. 

102 


The   Royal   Session   of  June   23,  1789 

VIII 

There  will  be  particularly  excepted  from  the  affairs 
which  can  be  treated  in  common  those  that  concern 
the  ancient  and  constitutional  rights  of  the  three 
s  orders,  the  form  of  constitution  to  give  the  next 
states  general,  the  feudal  and  seignorial  rights,  the 
useful  rights  and  honorary  prerogatives  of  the  two 
first  orders. 

IX 

10  The  especial  consent  of  the  clergy  will  be  neces- 
sary for  all  provisions  which  could  interest  religion, 
ecclesiastical  discipline,  the  regime  of  the  orders 
and  secular  and  regular  bodies. 


15  The  decisions  reached  by  the  three  orders  united, 
upon  the  contested  credentials,  and  upon  which  the 
interested  parties  would  appeal  to  the  states  general, 
shall  be  reached  by  a  majority  vote;  but,  if  two- 
thirds  of  the  votes,  in  one  of  the  three  orders,  pro- 

20  tested  against  the  deliberation  of  the  assembly,  the 
affair  will  be  reported  to  the  king,  to  be  definitely 
decided  by  his  majesty. 

XI 

If,  with  the  view  of  facilitating  the  union  of  the 

25  three  orders,  they  desired  that  the  proposition  that 

shall  have  been  considered  in  common  should  pass 

J03 


The  French   Revolution 

only  by  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  votes,  his 
majesty  is  disposed  to  authorize  this  form. 

XII 

The  affairs  which  will  have  been  decided  in  the 
s  assembly  of  the  three  orders  united  will  be  taken  up 
again  the  next  day  for  deliberation,  if  one  hundred 
members  of  the  assembly  unite  to  ask  for  it. 

XIII 

The  king  desires  that,  under  these  circumstances 
xo  and  to  restore  a  conciliatory  spirit,  the  three  cham- 
bers commence  by  naming  separately  a  commission 
composed  of  the  number  of  deputies  that  they  may 
judge  suitable,  to  prepare  the  form  and  composition 
of  the  conference  committee,  which  shall  treat  the 
is  different  affairs. 

XIV 

The  general  assembly  of  the  deputies  of  the  three 
orders  will  be  presided  over  by  the  presidents  chosen 
by  each  of  the  orders  and  according  to  their  ordi- 
20  nary  rank. 

xv 

Good  order,  decency,  and  liberty  of  the  ballot 
even,  require  that  his  majesty  forbid,  as  he  expressly 
does,  that  any  person  other  than  the  members  of 
as  the  three  orders  comprising  the  states  general  should 
be  present  at  their  deliberations,  whether  they  de- 
liberate in  common  or  separately. 

104 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

DISCOURSE    OF   THE   KING 

I  have  also  wished,  gentlemen,  to  have  placed 
again  under  your  eyes  the  different  benefits  that  I 
grant  to  my  people.     It  is  not  to  circumscribe  your 

s  zeal  in  the  circle  that  I  am  going  to  trace ;  for  I  shall 
adopt  with  pleasure  every  other  view  of  public  good 
which  will  be  proposed  by  the  states  general.  I  can 
say  without  deluding  myself  that  never  has  a  king 
done  so  much  for  any  nation;   but  what  other  can 

10  better  have  merited  by  its  sentiments,  than  the 
French  nation!  I  do  not  fear  to  say  it;  those  who, 
by  exaggerated  pretensions,  or  by  unseasonable 
difficulties,  would  still  retard  the  effect  of  my 
paternal  intentions,   would  render  themselves  un- 

is  worthy  of  being  regarded  as  French. 

Declaration  of  the  Intentions  of  the  King 


No  new  tax  shall  be  established,  no  old  one  shall 
be  continued  beyond  the  term  fixed  by  the  laws, 
20  without  the  consent  of  the  representatives  of  the 
nation. 

11 

The  new  taxes  which  will  be  established,  or  the 
old  ones  which  will  be  continued,  shall  hold  only  for 
25  the  interval  which  will  elapse  until  the  time  of  the 
following  session  of  the  states  general. 

105 


The  French   Revolution 

in 

As  the  borrowing  of  money  might  lead  to  an  in- 
crease of  taxes,  no  money  shall  be  borrowed  without 
the  consent  of  the  states  general,  under  the  condi- 

s  tion,  however,  that  in  case  of  war,  or  other  national 
danger,  the  sovereign  shall  have  the  right  to  borrow 
without  delay,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
millions;  for  it  is  the  formal  intention  of  the  king 
never  to  make  the  safety  of  his  empire  dependent 

io  upon  any  person. 

IV 

The  states  general  shall  examine  with  care  the 
situation  of  the  finances,  and  they  shall  demand  all 
the  information  necessary  to  enlighten  them  per- 
15  fectly. 

v 

The  statement  of  receipts  and  expenses  shall  be 
made  public  each  year,  in  a  form  proposed  by  the 
states  general  and  approved  by  his  majesty. 

20  vi 

The  sums  attributed  to  each  department  shall  be 
determined  in  a  fixed  and  invariable  manner,  and  the 
king  submits  to  this  general  rule  even  the  funds 
25  that  are  destined  for  the  maintenance  of  his  house- 
hold. 

106 


The   Royal   Session   of  June   23,  1789 

VII 

The  king  wishes,  in  order  to  assure  this  fixity  of 
the  different  expenses  of  the  state,  that  provisions 
suitable  to  accomplish  this  object  be  suggested  to 
s  him  by  the  states  general ;  and  his  majesty  will 
adopt  them  if  they  are  in  accordance  with  the  royal 
dignity  and  the  indispensable  celerity  of  the  public 
service. 

VIII 

10  The  representatives  of  a  nation  faithful  to  the  laws 
of  honor  and  probity  will  make  no  attack  upon 
public  credit,  and  the  king  expects  from  them  that 
the  confidence  of  the  creditors  of  the  state  be  as- 
sured in  the  most  authentic  manner. 

is  IX 

When  the  formal  dispositions  announced  by  the 
clergy  and  the  nobility,  to  renounce  their  pecuniary 
privileges,  will  have  become  a  reality  by  their  de- 
liberations, it  is  the  intention  of  the  king  to  sanction 
20  them,  and  there  will  no  longer  exist  any  kind  of 
privileges  or  distinctions  in  the  payment  of  taxes. 

x 

The  king  wishes  that,  to  consecrate  a  disposition 

so  important,  the  name  of  taille  be  abolished  in  the 

25  kingdom,  and  that  this  tax  be  joined  either  to  the 

vingtidmes,  or  to  any  other  land  tax,  or  finally  that 

107 


The  French  Revolution 

it  be  replaced  in  some  way,  but  always  in  just  and 
equal  proportions  and  without  distinction  of  estate, 
rank,  and  birth. 

XI 

s  The  king  wishes  that  the  tax  of  franc-fief  be  abol- 
ished from  the  time  when  the  revenues  and  fixed 
expenses  of  the  state  exactly  balance. 

XII 

All  rights,  without  exception,  shall  be  constantly 
10  respected,  and  his  majesty  expressly  understands 
under  the  name  of  rights,  tithes,  rents,  annuities, 
feudal  and  seignorial  rights,  and,  in  general,  all  the 
rights  and  prerogatives,  useful  or  honorary,  attached 
to  lands  and  fiefs  or  pertaining  to  persons. 

IS  XIII 

The  first  two  orders  of  the  state  shall  continue  to 
enjoy  exemption  from  personal  charges,  but  the  king 
would  be  pleased  to  have  the  states  general  consider 
means  of  converting  this  kind  of  charges  into  pe- 
20  cuniary  contributions  and  that  then  all  the  orders 
of  the  state  may  be  subjected  equally  to  them. 

xiv 

It  is  the  intention  of  his  majesty  to  determine,  in 

accord  with  the  states  general,  what  the  employ- 

2S  ments  and  duties  shall  be  which  will  preserve  in  the 

future    the    privilege    of    giving    and    transmitting 

108 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

nobility.  His  majesty,  nevertheless,  according  to 
the  inherent  right  of  his  crown,  will  grant  titles  of 
nobility  to  those  of  his  subjects  who  by  services 
rendered  to  the  king  or  to  the  state  shall  show  them- 
s  selves  worthy  of  this  recompense. 

xv 
The  king,  desiring  to  assure  the  personal  liberty  of 
all  citizens  in  the  most  solid  and  durable  manner, 
invites  the  states  general  to  seek  for  and  to  propose 

10  to  him  the  means  that  may  be  most  fitting  to  con- 
ciliate the  orders,  known  under  the  name  of  lettres 
de  cachet,  with  the  maintenance  of  public  security 
and  with  the  precautions  necessary  in  some  cases 
to  guard  the  honor  of  families,  to  repress  with  celerity 

is  the  beginning  of  sedition,  or  to  guarantee  the  state 
from  the  effects  of  criminal  negotiations  with  foreign 

powers. 

xvi 

The  states  general  shall  examine  and  make  known 
20  to  his  majesty  the  means  most  fitting  to  reconcile 
the  liberty  of  the  press  with  the  respect  due  to  re- 
ligion, custom,  and  the  honor  of  the  citizens. 

XVII 

There  shall  be  established  in  the  different  provinces 

as  or  generalities  of  the  kingdom,   provincial  estates 

composed  thus:    two-tenths  of  the  members  of  the 

clergy,  a  part  of  whom  will  necessarily  be  chosen  in 

109 


The   French   Revolution 

the  episcopal  order;  three-tenths  of  members  of  the 
nobility,  and  five-tenths  of  members  of  the  third 
estate. 

XVIII 

s  The  members  of  these  provincial  estates  shall  be 
freely  elected  by  the  respective  orders,  and  a  certain 
amount'  of  property  shall  be  necessary  to  be  an 
elector  or  eligible. 

XIX 

io  The  deputies  to  these  provincial  estates  shall  de- 
liberate in  common  upon  all  affairs,  following  the 
usage  observed  in  the  provincial  assemblies,  which 
these  estates  shall  replace. 

xx 

is  An  intermediary  commission,  chosen  by  these 
estates,  shall  administer  the  affairs  of  the  province, 
during  the  interval  from  one  session  to  another,  and 
these  intermediary  commissions,  becoming  alone  re- 
sponsible for  their  conduct,  shall  have  for  delegates 

20  persons  chosen  wholly  by  them  or  the  provincial 
estates. 

XXI 

The  states  general  shall  propose  to  the  king  their 

views  upon  all  the  other  parts  of  interior  organiza- 

25  tion  of  the  provincial  estates,  and  upon  the  choice 

of  forms  applicable  to  the  election  of  the  members 

of  this  assembly. 

no 


The   Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

XXII 

Independently  of  the  objects  of  administration 
with  which  the  provincial  assemblies  are  charged, 
the  king  will  confide  to  the  provincial  estates  the 

s  administration  of  the  hospitals,  prisons,  charity 
stations,  foundling  homes,  the  inspection  of  the 
expenses  of  the  cities,  the  surveillance  over  the 
maintenance  of  the  forests,  the  protection  and  sale 
of  the  wood,  and  over  other  objects  which  could  be 

10  more  usefully  administered  by  the  provinces. 

XXIII 

The  disputes  occurring  in  the  province  where  an- 
cient estates  exist  and  the  protests  that  have  arisen 
against  the  constitution  of  the  assemblies  ought  to 

is  claim  the  attention  of  the  states  general ;  they  shall 
make  known  to  his  majesty  the  dispositions  of  justice 
and  wisdom  that  it  is  suitable  to  adopt  to  establish 
a  fixed  order  in  the  administration  of  these  same 
provinces. 

20  xxiv 

The  king  invites  the  states  general  to  occupy  them- 
selves in  the  quest  of  the  proper  means  to  turn  to 
account  the  most  advantageously  the  domains 
which  are  in  his  hands,  and  to  propose  to  him  equally 
25  their  views  upon  what  can  be  done  the  most  con- 
veniently with  the  domains  that  have  been  leased. 

in 


The  French   Revolution 

xxv 

The  states  general  will  consider  the  project  con- 
ceived a  long  time  ago  by  his  majesty,  of  transfer- 
ring the  collection  of  tariffs  to  the  frontiers  of  the 
s  kingdom,  in  order  that  the  most  perfect  liberty  may 
reign  in  the  internal  circulation  of  national  or  foreign 
merchandise. 

XXVI 

His  majesty  desires  that  the  unfortunate  effects 

io  of  the  impost  upon  salt  and  the  importance  of  this 

revenue  be  carefully  discussed,  and  that  in  all  the 

substitutions  means  of  lightening  the  collection  may 

at  least  be  proposed. 

XXVII 

15  His  majesty  wishes  also  that  the  advantages  and 
incoveniences  of  the  internal  revenue  tax  on  liquors 
and  other  taxes  be  carefully  examined,  but  without 
losing  sight  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  assuring  an 
exact  balance  between  the  revenues  and  expenses  of 

20  the  state. 

XXVIII 

According  to  the  wish  that  the  king  manifested  by 
his  declaration  of  the  23d  of  last  September,  his  maj- 
esty will  examine  with  serious  attention  the  plans 
25  which  may  be  presented  to  him  relative  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  and  to  the  means  of  perfect- 
ing the  civil  and  criminal  laws. 

112 


The   Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

XXIX 

The  king  wishes  that  the  laws  that  he  will  have 
promulgated  during  the  session,  and  after  the  advice 
or  according  to  the  wish  of  the  states  general,  may 
s  experience  in  their  registration  and  execution  no 
delay  nor  any  obstacle  in  all  the  extent  of  his  king- 
dom. 

XXX 

His  majesty  wishes  that  the  use  of  the  corvte  for 
10  the  making  and  maintenance  of  the  roads  be  entirely 
and  forever  abolished  in  this  kingdom. 

XXXI 

The  king  desires  that  the  abolition  of  the  right  of 
main-morte,  of  which  his  majesty  has  given  the 
is  example  in  his  domains,  be  extended  to  all  France, 
and  that  means  be  proposed  to  him  for  providing  the 
indemnity  which  would  be  due  the  lords  in  possession 
of  this  right. 

XXXII 

20  His  majesty  will  make  known  at  once  to  the 
states  general  the  regulations  with  which  he  occu- 
pies himself  for  the  purpose  of  restricting  the  capi- 
taineries,  to  give,  furthermore,  in  this  connection, 
which  touches  the  most  nearly  his  own  pleasures,  a 

as  new  proof  of  his  love  for  his  people. 

"3 


The   French   Revolution 

XXXIII 

The  king  invites  the  states  general  to  consider  the 

drafting  for  the  army  in  all  its  relations  and  to  study 

the  means  of  reconciling  what  is  due  to  the  defense 

5  of  the  state,  with  the  extenuations  that  his  majesty 

desires  to  procure  for  his  subjects. 

XXXIV 

The  king  wishes  that  all  the  dispositions  of  public 
order  and  of  kindness  toward  his  people,  that  his 

io  majesty  will  have  sanctioned  by  his  authority,  dur- 
ing the  present  session  of  the  states  general,  those 
among  others,  relative  to  personal  liberty,  equality 
of  taxation,  the  establishment  of  provincial  estates, 
may  never  be  changed  without  the  consent  of  the 

15  three  orders,  given  separately.  His  majesty  places 
them  in  the  same  rank  with  the  national  properties, 
that  like  all  other  property,  he  wishes  to  place  under 
the  most  assured  protection. 

xxxv 

20      His  majesty,  after  having  called  the  states  general 

to  study,  together  with  him,  great  matters  of  public 

utility  and  everything  which  can  contribute  to  the 

lappiness  of  his  people,  declares  in  the  most  express 

manner  that   he  wishes  to  preserve  in  its  entirety 

25  and  without  the  least  impairment  the  constitution 
of  the  army,  as  well  as  every  authority,  both  police 

114 


The  Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

authority  and  power  over  the  militia,  such  as  the 
French  monarchs  have  constantly  enjoyed. 


DISCOURSE    OF   THE    KING 

You  have,  gentlemen,  heard  the  substance  of  my 
5  dispositions  and  of  my  wishes ;  they  are  conformable 
to  the  earnest  desire  that  I  have  for  the  public  wel- 
fare; and  if,  by  a  fatality  far  from  my  thoughts,  you 
should  abandon  me  in  so  fine  an  enterprise,  alone  I 
will  assure  the  well-being  of  my  people,  alone  I  will 

10  consider  myself  as  their  true  representative ;  and 
knowing  your  cahiers,  knowing  the  perfect  accord 
which  exists  between  the  most  general  wish  of  the 
nation  and  my  kindly  intentions,  I  will  have  all  the 
confidence  which  so  rare  a  harmony  ought  to  inspire, 

is  and  I  will  advance  toward  the  goal  I  wish  to  attain  with 

all  the  courage  and  firmness  it  ought  to  inspire  in  me. 

Reflect,  gentlemen,   that  none  of  your  projects, 

none  of  your  dispositions  can  have  the  force  of  a  law 

without   my   special   approbation.     So    I    am   the 

20  natural  guarantee  of  your  respective  rights  and  all 
the  orders  of  the  state  can  depend  upon  my  equi- 
table impartiality.  All  distrust  upon  your  part 
would  be  a  great  injustice.  It  is  I,  at  present,  who 
am  doing  everything  for  the  happiness  of  my  people, 

25  and  it  is  rare,  perhaps,  that  the  only  ambition  of  a 
sovereign  is  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  his 
subjects  that  they  may  accept  his  kindnesses. 

"5 


The  French   Revolution 

I  order  you,  gentlemen,  to  separate  immediately 
and  to  go  to-morrow  morning,  each  to  the  chamber 
allotted  to  your  order,  in  order  to  take  up  again 
your  sessions.     I  order,  therefore,  the  grand  master 

5  of  ceremonies  to  have  the  halls  prepared. 
7.  Le  point  du  jour,  No.  VI,  June  24,  1789. 

First  of  all  the  two  privileged  orders  were  seated; 
the  national  assembly  testified  its  discontent  by 
reiterated  murmurs.     The  two  secretaries  went  to 

10  M.  de  Breze  to  complain  of  the  indecency  of  so  long 
a  delay,  saying  that  the  assembly  was  going  to  with- 
draw. The  murmurs  began  afresh;  the  president 
rapped  on  the  door;  M.  de  Guiche  appeared;  a 
vigorous  complaint  was  made  because  of  so  long  a 

is  delay;    M.  de  Breze  was  called  for. 

It  was  proposed  that  the  assembly  withdraw.  M. 
de  Br6ze  arrived.  The  president  said  that  he  should 
complain  to  the  king  of  the  shortcomings  of  the 
master  of  ceremonies.     "Of  us,   sir?"  said  M.   de 

20  Breze.  "Yes,  sir.  It  is  high  time  that  we  were 
seated."  The  master  of  ceremonies  preceded  the 
president,  and  the  members  of  the  national  assembly 
entered  two  by  two  in  the  most  profound  silence  at 
half  past  ten. 

25  The  throne  was  placed  at  the  back  of  the  hall  in 
the  direction  of  the  entrance  of  the  Menus;  at  the 
right  were  the  clergy,  at  the  left  the  nobility,  and  on 
the  two  sides,  extending  from  the  middle  to  the  end 
of  the  hall,  were  the  members  of  the  national  assem- 

116 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,   1789 

bly.  The  four  heralds  and  the  king  at  arms  were 
placed  in  the  center.  The  throne  of  the  king  was 
raised  upon  a  platform  that  occupied  the  back  of 
the  hall  as  far  as  the  second  column.     At  the  base 

s  of  the  platform,  around  a  table,  several  ministers 

were  grouped ;  M.  Necker  was  not  among  them.  .  .  . 

[Here  follows  an  abridged  account  of  the  speeches 

of  the  king  and  of  the  contents  of  the  two  series  of 

declarations.] 

10  The  king  having  gone  out,  the  nobility  and  the 
prelates  retired.  The  members  of  the  commons 
remained.  .  .  . 

No.  VII,  June  25,  1789. 

After  the  departure  of  the  king  several  cures  and 

is  all  the  members  of  the  national  assembly  remained 

motionless    in    the    seats    that    they    occupied.     A 

quarter  of  an  hour  later  the   Marquis  de  Breze, 

the  grand   master  of   ceremonies,   approached   the 

president  and  asked  him  if  he  had  not  heard  the 

20  orders  of  the  king.     The  president  replied  to  him : 

"Sir,  be  good  enough  to  address  the  assembly  that 

has  decided  that  it  must  deliberate."     M.  de  Breze 

did  not  reappear.     A  mournful  silence  reigned  in  the 

assembly. 

25      M.  Camus  took  the  floor,  saying:  "The  authority 

of  the  deputies  forming  this  assembly  is  recognized; 

it  is  also  recognized  that  a  free  nation  may  not  be 

taxed  without  its  consent;    you  have,   then,  done 

what  you  should  have  done.     If,  at  our  first  advance, 

9  117 


The  French  Revolution 

we  are  arrested,  what  will  happen  in  the  future? 
We  must  persist.  Nothing  is  more  dangerous  than 
reserves  and  protestations;  this  form  destroys  all 
rights.     Of  what  are  we  witnesses?    At  the  open- 

s  ing  of  the  estates,  absolute  orders.  ..." 

M.  Barnave  said:  "Your  action  depends  on  your 
situation,  your  decrees  depend  upon  you  alone. 
You  have  declared  what  you  are;  you  have  no  need 
of  sanction.     The  voting  of  the  taxes  depends  upon 

io  you  alone.  Envoys  of  the  nation,  organs  of  its 
will  to  make  a  constitution,  you  are  the  national 
assembly,  and  may  remain  assembled  as  long  as  you 
may  judge  necessary  in  the  interests  of  your  con- 
stituents.    Such  was  your  situation  yesterday.  What 

is  has  been  done  to-day?  Is  it,  then,  in  keeping  with 
your  prudence  to  abandon  the  cause  of  the  public 
thus?  Nothing  remains  for  the  executive  power  to 
do  but  to  separate  you,  but  it  is  due  to  your  dignity 
to  maintain  your  position,  to  persist  in  the  use  of  the 

20  title  national  assembly.  Leave  no  doubts  in  the 
minds  of  your  fellow  citizens.  You  do  not  know, 
gentlemen,  where  force  would  conduct  you  and  per- 
haps the  public  indignation  that  would  crush 
you.  ..." 

25  M.  de  Glaizen,  deputy  from  Rennes,  having  spoken 
of  the  indiscreet  applause  of  some  members  of  the 
two  first  orders,  added:  "Absolute  power  speaks 
through  the  mouth  of  the  best  of  kings,  through  the 
mouth  of  a  sovereign,  who  recognized  that  the  peo- 

n8 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

pie  ought  to  make  the  laws.  ...  It  is  a  bed  of  justice 
held  in  a  national  assembly.  It  is  a  sovereign  who 
speaks  as  a  master,  when  he  ought  to  ask  advice. 
.  .  .  Let  the  aristocrats  triumph;   they  have  only  a 

s  day.  The  prince  will  soon  be  enlightened.  No,  the 
prince  will  not  persist  in  his  course.  It  is  liberty 
that  we  ought  to  maintain — the  greatness  of  your 
courage  will  equal  the  greatness  of  the  circum- 
stances, it  is  necessary  to  die  for  the  country — you 

10  have  deliberated  wisely,  gentlemen.  An  arbitrary 
act  that  is  about  to  ruin  the  kingdom,  that  is  about 
to  produce  anarchy,  ought  not  to  terrify  you." 

M.  de  Mirabeau,  in  supporting  the  motion  of  M. 
Camus,  said  that  he  blessed  liberty  because  it  ripened 

is  such  fine  fruit  in  the  national  assembly ;  that  he  was 
of  the  opinion  that  a  decree  declaring  the  inviol- 
ability of  the  deputies  ought  to  be  passed.  "Such 
a  course,"  he  said,  "would  not  be  a  manifestation  of 
fear,  but  an  act  of  prudence,  a  check  upon  the  vio- 

20  lent  counsels  that  surround  the  throne." 

M.  Petion  de  Villeneuve  took  the  floor  to  support 
the  two  motions:  "An  arbitrary  act  has  severed  the 
knot  already  fastened  by  the  clergy.  .  .  .  No  con- 
sideration   without    liberty.     Our    safety    lies    in 

as  firmness." 

M.  Buzot  said  that  he  would  say  little,  that  in- 
dignation is  not  verbose.  "The  national  assembly," 
he  added,  "may  not  commit  perjury.  .  .  .  What  an 
assault  upon  the  liberty  of  the  states  general!" 

119 


The  French   Revolution 

M.  l'abbe  Sieves  contented  himself  with  saying, 
''Gentlemen,  you  are  to-day  what  you  were  yester- 
day." 

M.  Garat,  the  elder,  spoke  at  length  on  the  arti- 

s  cles  contained  in  the  king's  declaration,  endeavoring 

to  show  that  they  were  only  an  adroit  trick  to  turn 

the  people  against  their  deputies.     He  spoke  with 

as  much  sense  as  force. 

M.  l'abbe  Gregoire  spoke  with  energy,  and  pre- 
io  tended  that  to  continue  to  work  on  the  constitution 
would  be  to  fall  in  with  the  views  of  the  king,  who 
was  still  deceived  by  those  around  him. 

At  half  past  two  a  standing  vote  was  taken  on  the 
motion  of  M.  Camus.  The  national  assembly  de- 
15  clared  unanimously  that  it  persisted  in  maintaining 
its  previous  decrees.  The  members  of  the  clergy 
asked  "that  it  be  noted  that  the  deliberation  had 
taken  place  in  their  presence." 

The  vote  was  taken  in  the  presence  of  several 
20  officers  of  the  French  guards  and  of  some  gentle- 
men, deputies  of  the  nobility,  who  had  remained 
quiet  spectators  of  the  scene. 

The  motion  of  M.  de  Mirabeau  upon  the  inviol- 
ability of  the  persons  of  the  deputies  having  passed 
25  by    a    majority    vote,   the    following    decree    was 
framed : 

[Here  follows  the  text  of  the  decree.] 

Passed  by  a  majority  of  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  votes  against  thirty-four. 

120 


The   Royal  Session   of  June   23,    1789 

8.  Uassemblee  nationale,  I,  197-206.     Royal  session 
of  the  23  d. 
The  deputies  betook  themselves  at  the  hour  in- 
dicated to  the  usual  meeting  place.     At  last  they 

5  found  the  doors  open  and  entered.  On  all  sides 
armed  men  had  been  placed;  in  the  antechambers, 
in  the  corridors  which  surround  the  hall,  finally  al- 
most among  the  benches  upon  which  the  deputies 
sit,  everywhere  sentinels  were  found. 

10  These  precautions  would  have  been  insufficient; 
in  Grand  Chantier  Street,  upon  the  Avenue  de  Paris, 
there  were  battalions  of  French  guards,  of  Swiss, 
of  guards  of  the  city  hall,  and  many  members  of  the 
country  police,  who  continually  walked  their  beat,  cir- 

is  culated  about  the  hall  and  in  the  environs,  prevented 
the  formation  of  groups  and  carried  their  audacity 
to  the  point  of  separating  deputies  who  came  to 
the  hall  together.  In  the  space  of  the  eighth  of  a 
league  there  were  more  than  four  thousand  armed 

20  men.  .  .  .  The  king  at  eleven  o'clock  left  the  chateau; 
the  carriages  of  the  Due  d' Orleans  came  first;  the 
Due  de  Chartres  was  in  one,  the  comtes  de  Provence 
and  d'Artois,  with  his  two  children,  were  in  the 
carriage  of  the  king.     Several  people  from  Paris, 

25  who  had  gone  to  Versailles,  encouraged,  in  a  cer- 
tain sense,  by  the  circular  letter  of  M.  Necker,  cried, 
11  Vive  le  roil"  The  carriage  of  the  king  was  pre- 
ceded and  followed  by  officers  of  the  falconry,  pages, 
squires,  and  finally  by  four  companies  of  the  body 

121 


The  French   Revolution 

guard.  Besides  these  troops  there  was  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Versailles  six  regiments;  the  purpose 
was,  it  is  said,  to  reduce  the  price  of  bread,  because 
the  deputies  pay  too  much  for  it.  One  ought,  with- 
s  out  doubt,  to  be  very  grateful  to  the  court  for  its 
paternal  cares.  .  .  .  To-day  silence  reigned  in  the  hall. 
.  .  .  They  [the  deputies]  rose  at  the  entrance  of  the 
king,  then  seated  themselves  and  put  on  their  hats. 
This  movement  led  the  guard  of  the  seals  to  say 

io  that  the  king  permitted  the  assembly  to  seat  itself. 
The  deputies  recognized  M.  Linguet  among  them, 
and  he  was  put  out.  M.  Paporet,  king's  secretary, 
died  in  the  hall.  The  king  delivered  his  speech.  .  .  . 
The  guard  of  the  seals  then  ascended  to  the  king's 

is  seat,  and  after  having  fallen  on  one  knee,  ordered 
the  reading  of  a  first  declaration.  .  .  .  The  king,  after 
this  first  declaration,  spoke  again.  .  .  .  This  declara- 
tion [the  second],  which  is  at  present  only  a  rough 
draft,  treats  of  two  objects.  .  .  .  The  king  spoke  again, 

20  after  which  he  retired.  Some  bishops,  who  with- 
out doubt  had  influenced  the  action  of  the  king,  ap- 
plauded and  cried,  Vive  le  rot!  but  these  cries  died 
on  their  lips.  The  most  of  the  bishops  and  some 
curates,  with  all  the  nobility,  retired  by  the  same 

as  door  which  had  been  opened  for  the  king.  As  to 
the  members  of  the  national  assembly,  without 
having  any  previous  understanding,  and  as  if  ani- 
mated by  the  same  spirit,  they  all  remained  seated. 
The  king  sent  his  master  of  ceremonies  to  say  to 

122 


The   Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

M.  Bailly  that  the  assembly  was  to  retire.  The 
grand  master  delivered  the  order  of  the  king  in  a 
low  voice.  There  were  cries  of  Louder!  louder!  and 
the  assembly  had  scarcely  heard  the  mission  of  the 

5  deputy  of  the  king,  when  it  cried  almost  unanimous- 
ly, "No!  no!  only  force  can  make  us  withdraw  from 
here!"  M.  Pison  du  Galand  thereupon  took  the 
floor.  He  showed  that  it  was  necessary  to  persist 
in  the  decree  of  Saturday,  M.  Barnave  was  of  the 

10  same  opinion,  but  M.  Camus  went  further. 

Motion  of  M.  Camus 

"For  us  to  fix  upon  the  decree  of  Saturday  would 
be,  so  to  speak,  to  abandon  all  we  had  done  before; 
it  is  necessary  then  to  vote  that  we  persist  in  all  our 
is  deliberations  passed  up  to  this  day."  This  decree 
was  adopted  unanimously.  M.  de  Mirabeau  pro- 
posed the  following  decree: 

Decree  of  M.  de  Mirabeau 
[Text  of  Mirabeau's  motion  on  inviolability.] 

20  This  second  decree  passed  by  a  majority  of  four 
hundred  and  eighty-five  against  thirty-four  votes. 
The  Abbe  Sieves  made  a  motion  tending  to  prove 
that  the  assemblies  ought  to  be  free  and  public, 
and  that  the  king  did  not  have  the  authority  or  the 

25  right  to  render  them  secret.  This  motion  also  was 
adopted  with  enthusiasm.      Finally  the  session  of 

123 


The   French   Revolution 

the  national  assembly  ended  at  three  o'clock,  after 
having  ordered  that  the  prods-verbal  of  the  assem- 
bly should  be  printed  that  day. 
9.  Courrier   de  Provence  (Lettres  de  M.le  comte  de 

s         Mirabeau  a  ses  commettants,  No.  XIII.) 

Finally  the  23d  all  the  machinery  of  arbitrary 
power  is  displayed ;  a  large  guard  surrounds  the  hall 
of  the  states  general,  barriers  are  established;  and 
at  a  time  when  everything  ought  to  inspire  con- 

10  fidence  the  only  thought  is  to  impart  terror.  The 
door  of  the  hall  is  opened  again  to  the  representatives 
of  the  nation,  but  it  is  severely  forbidden  to  the  pub- 
lic. The  king  appears.  A  gloomy  silence  is  ob- 
served; he  does  not  receive  that  accustomed  tribute 

is  of  vows  and  of  homage  which  announce  to  him  the 
contentment  of  his  people  and  which  he  will  always 
obtain  when  perfidious  counsel  does  not  mislead  his 
judgment.  To  what  a  degree  must  it  not  have 
been   deceived   to   adopt    forms   so    despotic  after 

20  having  solemnly  adjured  despotism ! 

We  do  not  fear  to  say  it,  suggestions  foreign  to 
his  majesty  are  recognized  clearly  in  the  discourses 
that  he  has  pronounced  in  the  royal  session.  These 
discourses  are  public,  and  without  doubt  it  is  per- 

25  mitted  to  discuss  the  principles  which  they  contain, 
principles  that  his  majesty  would  never  have  sus- 
tained if  he  were  not  surrounded  by  aristocrats  and 
ministers  sworn  to  despotism.  We  are  all  the  more 
authorized  to  believe  it  because  one  finds  in  these 

124 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

discourses  expressions  truly  paternal,  maxims  of 
public  good  which  contrast  with  the  formulas  of 
tyranny. 

In  the  opening  speech  of  the  session  his  majesty 

s  prides  himself  that  the  two  privileged  orders  will  be 
the  first  to  propose  a  union  of  opinion  and  senti- 
ment that  he  regards  as  necessary  in  the  present 
crisis. 

In  the  declaration  the  king  orders  that  three  cham- 

10  bers  be  formed  and  that  deliberation  be  by  order. 
Are  not  these  two  arrangements  contradictory? 
Can  one  expect  this  union  which  is  so  desirable  of 
opinion  and  sentiment  while  deliberating  by  orders? 
Moreover,  did   the   ministers  believe  then  that  in 

is  speaking  to  the  national  assembly  it  was  permissible 
for  the  king  to  make  use  of  the  imperative  expres- 
sions which  have  been  for  so  long  a  time  abused  in 
the  lits  de  justice?  Can  the  king  annul  the  delibera- 
tion of  the  national  assembly?    Even  in  admitting 

20  the  royal  veto,  is  not  this  right  limited  to  a  simple 
opposition  to  the  decrees  of  this  assembly;  opposi- 
tion which,  in  any  case,  could  not  be  relative  to  its 
interior  regime,  and  which  by  its  very  denomina- 
tion excludes  the  right  of  setting  aside  or  annulling? 

as  If  any  one  doubted  that  the  aristocrats  had  drawn 
up  this  declaration  under  the  name  of  the  king,  or 
rather  the  statutes  confirmative  of  their  tyrannical 
privileges,  let  him  read  articles  VIII  and  IX;  he 
will  there  see  that  great  care  has  been  shown  to  take 

125 


The  French   Revolution 

away  the  national  will,  the  reform  of  the  seignorial 
abuses,  and  that  the  special  consent  of  the  clergy 
will  be  necessary  for  all  arrangements  which  would 
interest  religion,  ecclesiastical  discipline,  the  regime 

s  of  the  orders  and  secular  and  regular  bodies. 

But  are  not  these  objects  of  general  interest,  and 
should  there  be  a  question  of  particular  interest  in 
a  national  assembly?  Should  those  who  have  par- 
ticular interests  to  defend  present  themselves  there? 

io  Let  them  address  petitions  if  they  believe  their  pre- 
tensions legitimate;  but  an  opposition  of  private 
interest  against  the  general  interest  is  a  monstrous 
thing,  and  consequently  it  cannot  be  the  intention 
of  the  king. 

is  No  more  can  it  be  in  accord  with  his  views  that 
the  public  be  excluded  from  the  sessions.  Why 
should  we  keep  the  knowledge  of  our  deliberations 
from  it?  What  do  these  words  "decency,"  "good 
order,"  mean,  stated  in  article  XV?     Here  the  in- 

20  decency  would  be  in  the  mystery,  the  disorder,  in 
the  secret  of  our  operations.  This  irregular  prohi- 
bition could  have  been  imagined  only  by  those 
who  fear  that  their  guilty  manceuvers  may  be  un- 
veiled and  who  could  not  show  themselves  with- 

25  out  blushing. 

After  this  declaration  of  imperative  wishes,  the 
king  pronounced  a  discourse,  in  which  this  strange 
sentence  was  noticed:  "I  have  also  wished,  gentle- 
men, to  bring  to  your  attention  again,  the  different 

126 


The   Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

favors  that  I  grant  my  people";  as  if  the  rights  of 
the  people  were  favors  of  kings!  Then  a  declara- 
tion of  the  intentions  of  the  king  was  read,  in  which 
some  are  found  truly  wise  and  popular.  But  since 
s  when  has  the  executive  power  had  the  initiative  of 
laws?  Is  it  wished  to  liken  us  to  an  assembly  of 
notables? 

Besides,  the  responsibility  of  the  ministers  solemn- 
ly demanded  by  the  nation  is  not  to  be  found  in  this 

10  declaration ;  no  participation  whatever  of  the  states 
general  in  the  legislative  power  is  even  spoken  of. 
Nothing  positive  upon  the  liberty  of  the  press;  no 
mention  of  the  eternal  breach  of  trust,  of  the  secrecy 
of  letters,  of  the  disastrous  lottery  tax:   but,  on  the 

is  other  hand,  the  formal  intention  of  preserving  the 
lettres  de  cachet  with  useless  modifications.  Finally, 
the  king  declares  himself  the  arbiter  of  what  is  prop- 
erty or  what  is  not,  independently  of  the  nature  of 
things.     "His   majesty   expressly   comprises   under 

20  the  name  of  property  the  tithes,  revenues,  annuities, 
feudal  and  seignorial  rights  and  dues." 

Here  we  ought  to  observe  that  at  the  reading  of 
this  article  some  nobles  had  the  indecency  to  ap- 
plaud and  to  thus  show  that  they  have  too  much 

as  pride  for  their  avarice,  or  too  much  avarice  for 
their  pride.  It  was  only  by  means  of  "Silence, 
there!"  that  they  were  induced  to  restrain  them- 
selves. 

This  declaration  of  the  intentions  of  his  majesty 

127 


The  French   Revolution 

was  followed  by  a  third  discourse,  in  which  the 
king  said  to  the  representatives  of  the  na- 
tion: .  .  . 

So  the  king,  not  content  to  prescribe  laws  to  the 

5  states  general,  and  even  their  by-laws,  whether  in- 
terior or  exterior,  speaks  only  by  this  formula:  I 
will,  I  forbid,  I  order;  so  that  never  has  a  monarch 
arrogated  to  himself  more  formally  all  powers  with- 
out limit  and  without  partition.     And  it  is  a  good 

io  king  that  courtiers  have  dared  counsel  to  try  such 
a  regime  upon  the  nation  he  has  felt  the  need  of 
convoking ! 

But  was  it  not,  then,  useless  to  assemble  the  rep- 
resentatives  of   the  people   in   order   to   arrive  at 

is  such  an  end  ?  If  the  monarch  is  free  to  make  laws 
based  upon  the  cahiers  of  the  different  baillages,  the 
ministers  had  only  to  have  them  sent  by  post;  or 
indeed  was  this  formality  necessary?  Could  they 
not  continue  the  r61e  of  legislators  that  they  have 

ao  played  up  to  this  time?  Persuaded  of  the  benefi- 
cent intentions  of  his  majesty,  their  last  resource  is 
to  deceive  him  upon  the  means  of  execution,  to  per- 
suade him  that  he  has  need  only  of  himself  to  effect 
the  well  being  of  his  kingdom.     If,  however,  at  the 

25  time  the  estates  were  summoned,  at  a  time  when  the 
king  was  incontestably  provisory  legislator,  they 
did  not  believe  that  it  was  permissible  for  him  to 
determine  the  manner  of  the  deliberations,  by  what 
right,  to-day  when  a  legislative  assembly  exists,  do 

128 


The   Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

they  wish  to  usurp  the  power  of  making  laws, 
which  does  not  pertain  to  them  and  ought  not 
to?  .  .  . 

The  deputies  of  the  nobility  and  a  part  of  those 

5  of  the  clergy  retired ;  the  others  remained  in  their 
seats.  Very  soon  the  Marquis  de  Breze  came  to 
say  to  them:  "Gentlemen,  you  know  the  will  of 
the  king."  At  this  one  of  the  members  of  the  com- 
mons,  addressing  him,   said:    "Yes,   sir,   we  have 

10  heard  the  views  that  have  been  suggested  to  the  king ; 
and  you  cannot  be  his  representative  before  the 
states  general  —  you,  who  have  no  seat  here,  nor 
vote,  nor  right  to  speak;  you  are  not  the  one  to  re- 
call his   discourse   to   us.     However,    to   avoid   all 

is  equivocation  and  all  delay,  I  declare  to  you  that  if 
you  have  been  charged  to  compel  us  to  withdraw 
from  here,  you  ought  to  demand  orders  to  employ 
force;  for  we  will  leave  our  seats  only  by  the  power 
of  the  bayonet." 

20  Then  with  one  voice  all  of  the  deputies  shouted: 
"Such  is  the  will  of  the  assembly." 

M.  de  Breze  having  withdrawn,  M.  le  Camus  made 
the  motion  to  persist  in  the  preceding  decrees.  It 
was  ably  and  strongly  supported  by  M.  Barnave, 

as  and  passed  unanimously. 

The  same  deputy  whose  reply  to  the  Marquis  de 
Breze  we  have  reported  then  made  the  following 
motion:  .  .  . 

This  motion  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  four 

129 


The   French   Revolution 

hundred  and  ninety-three  votes  against  thirty-four, 

after  a  very  short  debate. 

10.  Biauzat,  Correspondance,  II,  135-139. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE  JOURNAL  OP  THE  STATES 
S  GENERAL 

Session  of  Tuesday,  June  2j,   Ij8g. 
Everything   was   arranged   for   the   good   of   the 
kingdom   with   the   exception   of   some   difficulties 
which   were  still  left    to   be  dealt  with  upon  the 

10  subject  of  the  honorary  distinction  of  the  orders, 
when  some  ill-intentioned  persons  sought  to  frighten 
the  king.  For  that  reason  the  transactions  in- 
tended for  conciliation  were  presented  to  him  as 
capable  of  unsettling  the  throne. 

15  The  queen,  who  was  the  first  object  of  the  in- 
trigue, was  induced  to  present  herself  before  the 
king  with  the  dauphin  and  interest  the  father  in 
maintaining  the  rights  of  the  crown,  that  were  said 
to  be  attacked. 

20  The  success  of  the  evil  thinkers  was  kept  secret 
and  with  caution  like  the  Brienne  system,  and  we 
were  given  the  frightful  spectacle  to-day  of  the 
triumph  of  the  aristocracy.  The  king,  deceived, 
consecrated   pretensions    destructive   of    the   mon- 

25  archy. 

There  were  no  longer  invitations  to  a  general  re- 
union.    The  too  feeble  insinuations  of  the  discourse 

13Q 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

of  May  5  th  for  the  vote  by  head  have  been  replaced 
by  imperative  instructions  to  vote  by  order,  except 
in  some  few  cases ;  and  the  distinction  of  the  orders, 
deliberating  separately  with  the  veto  badly  veiled, 
s  has  been  expressly  declared  constitutional. 

To  bring  the  people  over  to  the  party  of  the  dis- 
guised aristocracy  the  skilful  perfidy  has  been  used 
of  gathering  some  of  the  principal  views  of  our 
cahiers  and  forming  from  them  a  declaration  of  the 

10  desires  of  the  king,  in  order  that  it  may  appear  that 
the  government  is  mindful  of  the  public  good  and 
also  to  authorize  the  announcement,  made  in  too 
expressive  terms,  that  the  states  general  can  be  dis- 
pensed with. 

is  I  believe  that  I  have  spoken  to  you  of  a  project 
which  transpired  the  16th  of  this  month.  Here  is 
its  execution.  It  is  a  production  after  the  manner 
of  Brienne — that  is  to  say,  much  evil  covered  by  an 
apparent  and  seducing  good. 

20      The  deputies  were  obliged  to  pass  through  a  body 

of  troops  to  reach  the  hall  of  estates,  without  even 

having  the  liberty  of  choosing  from  the  three  avenues 

that  led  there  and  had  been  open  to  all  up  to  this  day. 

The  high  clergy  and  the  nobility  submitted  to  the 

25  call  by  baillages.  In  this  interval,  which  lasted 
nearly  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  deputies  of  the  com- 
mons were  outdoors  in  the  rain.  They  refused  to 
submit  to  the  call.  They  then  entered  and  took 
their  seats  as  usual. 

131 


The   French   Revolution 

The  wishes  of  the  king  having  been  announced,  he 

withdrew  with  very  different  ideas  from  those  which 

should  have  delighted  him  the  4th  and  5th  of  May. 

The  evil-minded  among  the  clergy  and  nobility 

s  applauded  twice  at  the  reading  of  the  fruit  of  their 
manceuvers.  The  others  and  the  whole  assembly 
of  the  deputies  of  the  commons  maintained  a  gloomy 
silence. 

One  of  the  last  expressions  of  the  king  was  for  us 

10  to  meet  to-morrow  in  separate  chambers.  The  clergy 
went  out  after  the  king.  The  nobility  filed  out  fol- 
lowing the  clergy.  And  we  remained  unmoved.  It 
was  attempted  to  fatigue  us  by  noise  and  dust.  A 
multitude  of  workmen  was  employed  for  that  reason 

is  to  take  down  the  throne  and  theater  and  remove 
its  tapestries.     We  suffered  in  silence. 

M.  de  Breze  then  came  to  invite  us  verbally,  on 
the  part  of  the  king,  to  retire.  The  president  re- 
plied that  the  national  assembly  was  going  to  deliber- 

20  ate. 

We  have  deliberated  and  decreed  that  we  persist 
in  our  preceding  decrees,  and  we  declared  all  the 
members  of  the  assembly  under  the  safeguard  of 
the  nation.  .  .  . 

25  Wednesday,  June  24. — Yesterday's  session  was 
generally  unexpected.  MM.  Necker  and  de  Mont- 
morin  offered  their  resignations.  The  king  himself 
saw  the  danger  of  accepting  them.  The  best  ele- 
ment here  called  upon  M.  Necker  to  beg  him  to  en- 

132 


The   Royal   Session  of  June   23,  1789 

dure  the  results  of  his  involuntary  wrongs.  Sent 
for  by  the  queen  and  then  by  the  king,  he  was  ac- 
companied by  a  great  multitude  of  people,  all  re- 
spectable, who  traversed  the  apartments  which  led 
s  to  that  of  the  king  with  him  and  in  spite  of  him,  and 
he  was  reconducted  home  as  in  a  triumph. 

We  have  again  been  surrounded  to-day  by  bay- 
onets. But  our  grief  gave  place  to  joy  when  we  saw 
the  majority  of  the  clergy  bring  its  registers  and 

10  enter  our  hall  majestically.  The  minority  is  de- 
liberating at  the  present  time  (five  o'clock  in  the 
evening)  upon  a  motion,  the  substance  of  which  is 
that  they  shall  constitute  themselves  as  the  true 
chamber  of  the  clergy  under  the  pretext  that  it  has 

is  the  greatest  number  of  bishops. 

Attracted  to  the  street  by  an  unexpected  noise, 
I  have  just  seen  an  immense  populace  and  troops 
which  filled  my  neighborhood. 

The  archbishop  of  Paris  was  hooted  at  in  going 

20  from  the  assembly  of  the  clergy,  and  the  populace 
accompanied  him  to  the  end  of  my  street,  where  he 
lives.  Some  stones  were  thrown  at  his  carriage  and 
at  his  windows.  I  believed  it  was  my  duty  to  speak 
to  the  groups  of  people,  as  many  of  my  colleagues 

25  did,  and  tranquillity  was  restored. 

This  same  day,  at  midnight. — I  have  just  learned, 

at  the  coucher  of  the  king,  that  the  archbishop  of  Paris 

went  to  him  to  carry  his  complaints.     I  do  not  know 

against  whom.     I  had  a  conversation  with  his  broth- 

10  133 


The  French   Revolution 

er,  whom  I  did  not  know,  and  I  was  obliged  to  con- 
tradict a  too  violent  description  of  the  scene  by  his 
brother. 

I  learned  that  the  minority  of  the  nobility  will  re- 
s  turn  to  us  to-morrow,  and  I  prophesy  that  we  shall 
declare  ourselves  the  states  general  before  noon. 
I  am,  with  respect,  etc., 

Gaultier  de  Biauzat. 

25,  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. — Some  hussars 
10  and  armed  members  of  the  French  guards  have  just 
arrived. 

11.  Bailly,  Mernoires,  I,  206-223. 

Tuesday,  June  23d. 
We  had  been  given  notice  that  the  first  two  orders 

is  would  enter  by  the  avenue  entrance,  the  commons 
by  an  opposite  door,  facing  the  Rue  des  Chantiers, 
and  that  the  latter  would  gather  in  a  wooden  gal- 
lery, which  served  as  a  vestibule  to  this  door  and 
where  there  was  ordinarily  a  cafe.     There  was  noth- 

20  ing  to  be  done  about  this  inconvenience;  but  it  was 
felt.  They  (the  commons)  met  there  then.  I  ar- 
rived in  good  season.  We  waited  a  very  long  time. 
Murmurs  began  to  be  heard.  This  gallery  was  too 
small  to  contain  all  the  deputies,  with  whom,  in 

2s  truth,  were  a  number  of  curious  people  in  short 
mantles,  imitating  the  costume  of  the  deputies. 
Many  of  the  deputies  were  outside  in  the  rain.     The 

i34 


The   Royal   Session   of  June   23,  1789 

murmurs  redoubled.  It  was  my  place  to  knock  at 
the  door ;  the  body  guards  of  the  post  opened  to  me, 
and  told  me  that  we  could  enter  very  soon.  Never- 
theless, the  indignation  grew  more  marked.     There 

s  was  talk  of  withdrawing.  I  rapped  again  and  asked 
for  the  grand  master  of  ceremonies ;  some  one  replied 
that  it  was  not  known  where  he  was.  I  was  very 
anxious;  I  saw  that  it  was  possible  and  even  natural 
that  the  injured  commons  would  withdraw.     And 

10  then  what  an  imprudent  thing  for  the  ministry  to 
force  the  king  either  to  hold  the  meeting  in  their 
absence  or  to  discontinue  it  in  default  of  their  pres- 
ence! Very  soon  the  intention  to  withdraw  was 
manifested  by  loud  shouts.     The  care  of  the  dignity 

is  of  the  commons  rested  upon  me.  I  rapped  again ;  I 
asked  for  the  commanding  officer.  The  captain  of 
the  guards,  Due  de  Guiche,  appeared.  I  said  to  him : 
"Sir,  you  have  admittance  to  the  interior;  I  beg  of 
you  to  find  M.  de  Breze  and  to  warn  him  that  the 

20  representatives  of  the  nation  cannot  remain  where 
they  are;  that  they  will  not  wait  any  longer,  and  if 
they  are  not  admitted  immediately,  they  are  going 
to  withdraw."  A  moment  after,  the  door  was 
opened;  M.  de  Brez6  came  to  receive  us,  and  we 

25  entered.  I  took  the  lead,  walking  between  the 
grand  master  and  the  master  of  ceremonies,  and  fol- 
lowed by  all  the  members  of  the  national  assembly, 
two  by  two,  and  in  the  most  profound  silence.  On 
the  way  I  made  M.  de  Breze  feel  all  the  inconsider- 

i35 


The  French  Revolution 

ateness  and  the  danger  of  the  measures  which  had 
been  taken.  He  informed  me  that  an  accident,  the 
sudden  death  of  M.  Paporet,  one  of  the  secretaries 
of  the  king,  and  to  whom  they  had  tried  to  give  some 
said,  had  retarded  the  entrance;  which  was  quite 
natural.  But  upon  entering  we  found  the  two 
other  orders  in  place,  and  I  have  always  been  per- 
suaded that  we  had  been  made  to  wait  thus,  in  order 
to  allow  them  time  to  take  their  places,  for  fear 

io  that  the  commons,  constituted  as  a  national  assembly, 
would  wish  to  take  the  first  places.  The  coming  of 
the  king  was  not  long  delayed;  he  took  off  his  hat, 
bowed,  and  said :  .  .  . 

Immediately  after  this  discourse  the  king  had  a 

15  first  declaration  read;  but  first  the  guard  of  the 
seals,  having  advanced  to  the  throne  and  spoken 
to  the  king  upon  bended  knee,  according  to  the  or- 
dinary custom,  said:  "The  king  orders  you  to  put 
on  your  hats."     I  put  on  my  hat;    a  number  of 

20  deputies  from  the  commons  did  the  same ;  neither 
the  nobility  nor  the  clergy  did  so.  Doubtless,  in 
the  frivolous  love  of  distinctions,  they  no  longer 
cared  to  keep  their  hats  on  in  the  presence  of  the 
king  when  we  had  our  hats  on.     By  putting  on  my 

2s  hat  I  had  wished  to  preserve  and  indicate  our  rights. 

As  soon  as  I  saw  the  majority  without  hats  I  took 

my  hat  off,  and  everybody  remained  uncovered  .... 

[Here  follows  the  substance  of  the  declarations.] 

That  done,  the  king  spoke  again.  .  .  . 

136 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

Then  the  king  had  a  second  declaration  read,  en- 
titled, "Declaration  of  the  Intentions  of  the  King," 
and  which  contains  the  favors  that  he  grants  his 
people.     It  offers  a  plan  of  reform  of  abuses,  a  plan 

s  of  administration,   and   the  rights  granted   rather 
than  due  the  nation. 

It  was  astonishing  that  in  speaking  to  the  assem- 
bled nation  the  king  was  made  to  say,  "the  king 
wishes,  the  king  understands";    that  he  had  been 

10  made  to  annul  decrees  made  by  the  nation,  when 
the  supreme  leader,  the  hereditary  representative  of 
the  nation,  can  only  have  a  veto ;  that  in  the  second 
declaration,  which  is  a  species  of  new  constitution, 
no  part  in  the  legislative  power  is  given  to  the  states 

is  general ;  the  necessity  of  the  consent  of  the  nation 
to  taxation  appears  to  be  a  concession  rather  than 
a  recognition  of  the  national  right.  Many  deputies 
noticed  the  expressions,  the  favors  that  the  king 
grants  to  his  people;   can  the  king,  sole  master  and 

20  sole  provisory  legislator  in  the  absence  of  the  nation, 
speak  thus  to  the  nation  assembled  in  states  gen- 
eral? (Courrier  de  Provence,  lettre  13.)  During  this 
reading  the  commons  remained  in  the  most  profound 
silence,  while  the  two  declarations  were  accompanied 

25  and  followed  by  much  applause  from  the  majority 
of  the  nobility  and  the  minority  of  the  clergy;  this 
was  right,  since  it  was  their  work  in  part.  The  sus- 
picion was  justified  because  the  articles  VIII  and 
IX   reserve  for  a  separate  deliberation  the  things 

i37 


The  French   Revolution 

which  particularly  interested  the  two  orders,  the 
feudal  and  seignorial  rights,  the  useful  rights  and 
honorific  prerogatives  of  the  first  two  orders,  eccle- 
siastical discipline,  the  regime  of  the  secular  and 
s  regular  bodies ;  that  meant  that  all  that  was  an 
affair  of  privileged  classes,  and  not  national  affairs; 
it  was  to  establish  the  first  two  orders  as  sovereign 
judges  in  their  own  cause.  (Ibid.)  The  reading 
ended,  the  king  spoke  again.  .  .  . 

10  Unfortunate  prince,  where  have  you  been  advised 
and  how  much  have  you  been  deceived!  After  the 
departure  of  the  king  the  entire  nobility  and  part  of 
the  clergy  withdrew,  the  commons  remained  in  their 
place,  calm  and  in  silence.     The  grand  master  of 

is  ceremonies  approached  me,  and  said  to  me:  "Sir, 
you  have  heard  the  order  of  the  king?"  I  replied 
to  him:  "Sir,  the  assembly  adjourned  to  meet  after 
the  royal  session;  I  cannot  dissolve  it  until  it  has 
deliberated."     "Is  that  your  reply,   and  am  I  to 

20  communicate  it  to  the  king?"  "Yes,  sir."  And  I 
added  to  my  colleagues  who  were  around  me:  "I 
believe  that  an  assembly  of  the  nation  cannot  receive 
an  order."  It  was  said  and  repeated  that  I  had  made 
this  reply  to  M.  de  Br6ze.     The  official  reply  to  his 

as  message  is  that  which  I  have  just  reported.  I  re- 
spected the  king  too  much  to  make  such  a  reply;  I 
knew  too  well  the  regard  that  a  president  owes  to 
the  assembly  to  commit  it  thus  without  its  consent. 
It  was  for  the  assembly  and  not  for  me  to  weigh, 

138 


The   Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

consider,  and  declare  its  rights.  In  truth,  Mirabeau 
spoke,  and,  becoming  angry  with  the  grand  master 
of  ceremonies,  said  about  what  has  since  been  re- 
peated:  "Go  tell  those  who  sent  you  that  the  force 

s  of  bayonets  is  nothing  against  the  will  of  the  nation.' ' 
This  reponse  has  been  greatly  praised,  which  is  not 
a  reply,  but  a  retort  that  he  should  not  have  made, 
that  he  had  no  right  to  make,  since  the  president 
alone  should  have  spoken,  and  which,  at  the  same 

10  time  that  it  was  out  of  place,  was  beyond  all  modera- 
tion. Moderation  requires  that  one  should  reply 
only  to  that  which  is  said.  Had  bayonets  been 
spoken  of,  had  force  been  announced,  had  a  menace 
escaped  from  the  mouth  of  M.  de  Breze?     No.     He 

is  recalled,  according  to  his  duty,  an  order  of  the  king. 
Had  the  king  the  right  to  give  this  order?  The 
assembly  by  continuing  the  session  decided  that  he 
had  not;  and  in  declaring  that  the  assembly  could 
not  be  separated  before  having  deliberated,  I  had 

20  preserved  for  it  its  rights  and  I  had  continued  in  the 
moderation  from  which  an  assembly  and  its  presi- 
dent should  never  deviate. 

Workmen  began  to  make  the  necessary  changes  in 
the  hall;    after  having  consulted  the  assembly  I 

25  had  an  order  given  them  to  stop.  It  was  proposed 
to  adjourn  until  the  next  day  to  discuss  the  declara- 
tion of  the  king.  This  advice  was  rejected  as  soon 
as  proposed.  M.  Camus  disclosed  a  firmer  opinion 
in  proposing  to  declare  that  the  assembly  persisted 

i39 


The  French   Revolution 

in  its  preceding  decrees,  while  postponing  the 
session  to  the  next  day.  Abbe  Sieves  said:  "You 
are  to-day  what  you  were  yesterday."  M.  Barnave 
observed  "that  the  decrees  of  the  assembly  depend- 
s  ed  only  upon  the  assembly.  The  first  has  declared 
what  you  are,  the  second  decides  upon  the  imposts 
that  you  alone  can  consent  to,  the  third  is  an  oath 
that  prescribes  your  duty.  This  is  not  a  case  of 
sanction.     The  king  cannot  destroy  what  he  cannot 

io  sanction.' '  The  discussion  was  not  long.  The  as- 
sembly, in  admirable  order  and  a  majestic  silence,  in 
the  presence  of  forty  or  fifty  witnesses,  who  were 
upon  the  platform,  adopting  the  motion  of  M. 
Camus,  declared  unanimously  that  it  persisted  in  its 

is  preceding  decrees.  .  .  . 

Mirabeau  made  a  motion  to  declare  the  inviolabil- 
ity of  .the  deputies,  and  there  was  a  great  discussion. 
I  myself  opposed  it,  with  the  idea  that  inviolability 
was  sufficiently  established  by  the  fact,  and  that 

20  every  precaution  which  would  announce  uneasiness 
and  display  doubt  was  apt  only  to  weaken  it.  Mira- 
beau replied  to  me  with  heat:  "You  do  not  know 
to  what  you  expose  yourself!  If  you  do  not  carry 
the  decree,  sixty  deputies,  and  you  first  of  all,  will 

25  be  arrested  this  night."  We  were  told  afterward, 
but  I  have  not  had  occasion  to  verify  the  fact,  that 
while  we  deliberated  the  body  guard  received  an  order 
to  march  and  to  form  in  the  avenue  before  the  hall, 
and  that  afterward  they  had  had  a  counter-order. 

140 


The  Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

However  it  may  be,  the  motion  of  Mirabeau  was 

adopted,  and  the  following  decree  was  passed.  .  .  . 

I  finally  came  over  to  this  opinion,  because  I  felt 

that  if  inviolability  did  not  need  to  be  declared,  it 

s  was  nevertheless  good  to  make  a  law  that  could  be- 
come a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  each  one  of  the  dis- 
persed deputies,  a  law  which  should  give  notice  that 
the  nation  existed  to  avenge  its  representatives,  and 
which  would  frighten  those  who  would  think  of  ren- 

10  dering  themselves  instigators  of  arbitrary  and  vio- 
lent measures.  These  two  decrees  were  passed  in 
the  presence  of  many  members  of  the  clergy.  Those 
whose  credentials  were  verified  gave  their  votes  at 
the  time  they  gave  their  opinions,  and  the  others 

is  asked  that  mention  might  be  made  of  their  pres- 
ence.    And  the  assembly  having  adjourned  to  the 
next  day,  I  closed  the  session. 
12.  Duquesnoy,  Journal,  I,  117.-123. 

Versailles,  June  24,  178Q. 

20  After  hopes  conceived  too  lightly  perhaps,  at  the 
sight  of  the  union  of  the  clergy,  good  citizens  learned 
with  terror  the  day  before  yesterday  that  the 
ministerial  existence  of  M.  Necker  was  drawing  to 
an  end,  that  his  friends  were  pressing  him  to  quit, 

as  and  that  he  had  decided  to  do  so.  It  was  known  in 
particular  that  he  had  proposed  to  the  council  a 
plan  of  conciliation  which  had  been  rejected,  or  to 
use  the  very  expression  of  M.  Necker,  dislocated. 
It  was  learned  the  next  morning  that  he  persisted 

141 


The  French   Revolution 

in  his  resolution ;  and  certainly,  to  look  at  the  situa- 
tion from  one  point  of  view,  to  think  only  of  his  in- 
dividual honor,  it  appeared  impossible  that  he 
should  remain.  Some  sensible  people,  few  in  num- 
s  ber,  it  is  true,  realized  clearly  that  he  could  not 
retire  without  producing  a  terrible  shock,  the  ruin 
of  many  fortunes,  and  perhaps  a  shortage  in  the  food 
supply,  which  has  been  retarded  up  to  the  present 
time  only  by  the  infinite  pains  and  the  personal 

io  credit  of  M.  Necker.  What  increased  still  more  the 
uneasiness  was  that  it  was  thought  that  the  plan 
which  was  going  to  be  proposed  was  the  work  of 
M.  Vidaud  de  la  Tour,  a  man  servilely  devoted  to 
authority  and   a   personal   enemy    of    M.    Necker. 

is  It  was  known,  further,  that  an  artistically  planned 
scheme  existed,  and  that  a  cabal,  at  the  head  of 
which  were  the  queen,  the  Comte  d'Artois,  the 
princes  of  Conde  and  Coigny,  was  working  to  ruin 
him.     It  was  known,  further,  that  the  queen  had 

20  passed  a  whole  after-dinner  period  with  the  two 
princes  of  Conde"  and  Conti,  MM.  de  Luxembourg 
and  de  Coigny,  ardent  enemies  of  public  liberty. 
Finally,  at  the  moment  the  session  opened  no  one 
doubted  the  retirement  of  M.  Necker,  and  above  all 

as  when  it  was  noted  that  he  was  not  present. 

The  royal  session  was  set  for  ten  o'clock;  it  did 
not  begin  before  half  past  eleven.  The  commons 
had  waited  a  long  time  in  the  vestibule;  there  was 
talk  of  making  an  appeal  to  the  name  of  the  king, 

142 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

but  all  the  members  refused  to  support  it.  Finally, 
when  they  had  entered,  one  of  the  members  noticed 
that  Linguet  had  taken  a  seat  among  them;  this 
man  had  published  the  day  before  a  pamphlet  in 

s  favor  of  the  vote  by  order.  A  murmur  arose:  "No 
Linguet!  The  man  who  wrote  in  favor  of  the  vote  by 
order  has  no  right  to  be  present  in  the  national  assem- 
bly!" He  was  forced  to  retire,  the  guards  themselves 
insisting  on  it. 

10  Finally  the  king  entered.  No  one  had  given  him 
the  slightest  sign  of  approbation,  and  those  who  were 
in  the  back  of  the  hall  had  noticed  that  he  had  en- 
tered only  when  he  began  to  speak.  I  shall  not 
analyze   his   three   speeches,    nor   the   declarations 

is  which  have  been  published It  is  sufficient  to  know 

that  never  did  despotism  express  itself  in  terms  more 
audacious,  that  never  did  slaves  listen  to  more  im- 
perious orders.  Consequently,  a  profound  silence 
reigned  in  the  hall,  the  silence  of  indignation  and 

20  anger.  It  was  interrupted  only  by  some  very  rare 
cries  of  "  Vive  le  roi!"  issuing  from  some  episcopal  or 
aristocratic  mouths,  but  there  was  not  a  single  one 
from  the  commons;  far  from  it,  one  imposed  silence 
upon   hands   and   mouths   which   applauded   else- 

25  where. 

The  king  ended  the  session  by  ordering  the  depu- 
ties to  retire  and  meet  the  next  day  in  their  separate 
chambers.  The  clergy  and  nobility  withdrew,  the 
commons  remained  in  their  places,  and  the  grand 

i43 


The  French   Revolution 

master  of  ceremonies  having  come  to  say  that  he  had 
orders  to  prepare  the  hall,  the  Comte  de  Mirabeau 
said  to  him :  "  Sir,  go  tell  your  master  that  the  national 
assembly  has  decided  it  will  not  leave  the  hall.    Let 

s  them  make  us  leave  by  force,  if  they  dare!"  The 
Marquis  de  Breze  retired,  and  the  workmen  who  were 
taking  down  the  throne  ceased  making  a  noise. 

M.  Pison  du  Galland  then  proposed  that  we  should 
pass  a  decree  in  about  these  terms:    "The  national 

io  assembly  has  charged  two  of  its  members  to  procure 
without  delay  an  official  copy  of  what  has  been  read 
to  it  and  has  adjourned  until  to-morrow."  This 
proposition  was  vigorously  opposed  by  M.  Camus 
and  by  a  number  of  others,  and  it  was  proposed  to 

is  substitute  the  following:  "The  national  assembly 
declares  that  it  persists  in  its  preceding  decrees." 
Several  motions  were  made  in  succession,  one  by 
the  Comte  de  Mirabeau  upon  the  inviolability  of 
the  members  of  the  assembly,  and  one  by  M.  le 

20  Chapelier  on  the  necessity  of  rendering  the  session 
public  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  king  had  just 
prohibited  it.  In  the  course  of  the  discussion,  the 
most  bitter  criticism  was  made  of  the  morning's 
performance,  and  without  doubt  that  was  an  easy 

25  thing  to  do.  Those  who  hazarded  it,  who  thus  com- 
promised the  royal  authority,  knew  neither  the  men 
nor  the  times;  they  have  not  followed  the  progress 
of  ideas  since  the  opening  of  the  estates;  they  have 
not  felt  that  the  hour  of  a  great  revolution  has  come, 

144 


The  Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

that  they  may,  indeed,  retard  it,  give  it,  if  I  may 
say  so,  another  course,  but  it  is  impossible  to  pre- 
vent it. 
After  some  debate  the  assembly  passed  the  fol- 

s  lowing  decree : 

[Here  follow  the  two  decrees,  presented  as  one.] 
This  decree  passed,  the  session  was  ended  and  ad- 
journed until  the  next  day.     It  must  be  confessed 
that  it  is  impossible  to  show  a  more  marked  dis- 

10  regard  for  the  royal  authority,  and  never,  without 
doubt,  was  there  better  reason  for  it.  It  is  when 
kings  forget,  when  they  prostitute  their  powers, 
when  they  degrade  them  themselves  by  making  use 
of  them  to  the  detriment  of  public  liberty,  that  it 

is  is  necessary  to  teach  them  that  there  is  a  force  su- 
perior to  that  of  all  the  kings  of  the  earth,  that  of 
reason,  of  justice,  of  truth,  when  it  calls  public  opin- 
ion to  its  aid. 

It  was  noted  that  the  king  talked  in  a  trembling 

20  and  weak  tone.  Was  it  the  consciousness  of  the 
wrong  he  was  doing?  Was  it  the  fear  with  which 
he  had  been  inspired? 

The  guard  of  the  seals  was  hooted  as  well  as  the 
Archbishop  of  Paris ;  good  people  are  irritated  to  see 

as  two  such  different  men  confounded.  The  Due  d'Or- 
leans  was  enthusiastically  applauded  by  the  people; 
on  the  contrary,  the  moment  the  king  entered  his 
carriage  no  sign  of  joy  was  given,  and  how  could 
one  show  it  when  the  streets  and  the  highways  were 

i45 


The   French   Revolution 

lined  with  armed  men,  who  can,  to  be  sure,  command 
silence,  but  who  are  never  sufficiently  strong  to  make 
the  heart  speak. 

Toward  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  report 

s  having  started  that  M.  Necker  had  resigned,  five 
hundred  deputies  of  the  commons  hastened  to  his 
residence,  without  deliberation,  without  any  under- 
standing, by  this  involuntary  and  irrational  move- 
ment  produced   by   the   irresistible   ascendancy  of 

io  virtue,  of  probity,  and  of  generosity.  The  street, 
the  court  of  the  mansion,  were  filled  with  people, 
two  thousand  people  had  followed  him  into  the  court 
of  the  chateau,  and  there,  under  the  very  windows 
of  the  king,   they  cried:    "Long  live  M.   Necker! 

is  Give  us  M.  Necker!"  At  Necker's  there  was  the 
greatest  agitation,  and  yet  Madame  Necker  main- 
tained a  calm  and  serene  air,  and  I  did  not  see  her 
join  a  single  tear  to  those  shed  around  her. 

Finally  they  came  to  announce  his  return.     From 

20  the  court  of  the  chateau  to  his  house  he  was  followed 
by  an  infinite  number  of  people  of  ever}^  class,  who 
did  not  cease  to  cry:  "  Vive  M.  Necker!1'  When  he 
had  entered,  they  were  still  ignorant  whether  he  would 
stay;    they  simply  abandoned  themselves  to  their 

25  joy;  the  shouts  redoubled;  he  could  not  speak;  he 
asked  to  be  permitted  to  retire  a  minute  with  his 
wife.  He  at  once  returned  and  found  in  his  salon 
all  the  deputies  of  the  commons,  who  received  him 
with  expressions  of  joy  difficult  to  describe.     Some 

146 


The   Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

words  of  gratitude  escaped  him,  and  then  he  took 
advantage  of  the  occasion  to  preach  union,  harmony. 
I  especially  noted  this  remark,  full  of  reason  and 
sense :   ' '  Gentlemen,  you  are  very  strong,  but  do  not 

s  abuse  your  power."  A  hundred  voices  repeated: 
"Sir,  we  have  no  more  need  of  orders;  tell  us  your 
desires."  Others:  "They  did  not  know  the  French 
people;  they  did  not  know  how  generous  and  loyal 
it  is."     Others:    "It  is  your  happiness  we  wish  to 

10  consummate,  and  the  best  way  of  doing  it  is  to  come 
to  an  understanding  among  ourselves;  show  us  the 
road,  and  we  will  follow  it."  Finally,  expressions  of 
joy  took  the  character  of  those  who  talked,  but  all 
breathed  that  kind  of  love  which  one  has  only  for 

is  people  truly  good,  and  which  talents  and  great 
qualities  do  not  inspire. 

The  Comte  de  Luzerne  had  been  one  of  the  first 
to  reach  M.  Necker's  house;  no  one  showed  any  in- 
terest in  him.     The  Comte  de   Montmorin  seems 

20  never  to  have  left  him ;  it  is  said  M.  Necker  pre- 
sented him  as  his  second  self ;  what  is  certain  is  that 
he  was  much  applauded  and  that  there  were  many 
cries  of  "  Vive  M.  de  Montmorin!11  and  that  all  the 
deputies  of  the  commons  went  to  call  upon  him. 

25  To  the  cries  that  are  heard  are  always  joined  those 
of  "  Long  live  the  third  estate!  Long  live  the  commons! 
Long  live  the  national  assembly!11  And  when  a  deputy 
of  the  commons  passed  he  was  applauded. 

In  the  evening  bonfires  were  lighted  and  fireworks 

i47 


The  French   Revolution 

were  set  off  before  the  house  of  M.  Necker,  and  people 
filled  the  streets  for  a  part  of  the  night,  displaying 
great  signs  of  joy  and  stopping  before  the  houses 
where  the  deputies  lodged. 

5  13.  Jallet,  Journal,  96,  100. 

Two  councils  were  held,  one  Saturday  night,  and 
the  other  the  next  day.  .  .  .  The  king  had  ordered  the 
assembly  to  separate.  The  third  estate  and  a  great 
part  of  the  clergy,  who  were  for  the  union,  remained. 

10  There  was  profound  silence  for  several  minutes. 
The  Marquis  de  Breze  entered  by  the  order  of  the 
king  and  declared  by  order  of  the  president  that  it 
was  the  wish  of  his  majesty  that  they  should  sepa- 
rate.    The  president  replied  that  the  session  could 

is  be  suspended  only  by  the  consent  of  the  national 
assembly.  One  of  the  deputies  arose  and  said :  "Only 
bayonets  can  make  us  leave  here."  The  Marquis  de 
Breze  withdrew  to  report  to  the  king  what  had 
happened.     His  majesty  had  given  orders  to  the 

20  body  guard,  which  had  been  summoned  from  Saint- 
Germain,  to  return  there.  The  ministers,  frightened, 
made  them  come  back.  The  king,  astonished  at  this 
movement,  reiterated  his  orders.  It  is  said  that  the 
king,  having  learned  that  the  third  estate  and  part 

25  of  the  clergy  did  not  wish  to  separate,  in  spite  of  his 
orders,  replied:  "Well,  d —  it,  let  them  remain.  ..." 
Eighty  cures  remained,  in  spite  of  the  orders  of  the 
king.  The  Archbishop  of  Vienna  was  weak  enough 
to  send  word  to  the  cures  to  come  to  him.     Some  of 

148 


The   Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

them  went  out,  but,  not  getting  any  good  reasons 
from  the  archbishop  for  this  action,  wished  to  return ; 
the  guards  prevented  them  from  doing  so.  The 
other  cures  were  present  at  the  whole  session.    The 

s  prods-verbal  of  the  national  session  stated  that  the 
action  was  taken  by  the  three  orders  united.  In 
fact,  the  majority  of  the  clergy  was  looked  upon  as 
being  present,  because  of  the  union  of  the  preceding 
day,  and  the  deputies  of  the  Dauphine  and  of  Saint- 

10  Domingo  were  present  as    representatives   of  the 
nobility. 
14.  Stael-Holstein,   Correspondance,    103-105. 

No.  n6y  June  25. 
The  plan  of  conciliation  of  M.  Necker,  which  was 

is  favorable  to  the  third  estate,  was  adopted  last  Fri- 
day by  the  king,  when,  Sunday,  Monsieur  and  the 
Comte  d'Artois  came  into  the  council.  Both,  and 
especially  the  latter,  were  of  the  opinion  that  it 
should  be  modified  in  such  a  way  that  it  would  be- 

30  come  unacceptable  to  the  third  estate  and  very 
favorable  to  the  protestations  of  the  two  other 
privileged  orders.  The  royal  session  was  adjourned 
to  the  next  day  on  account  of  the  resistance  M. 
Necker  made  to  any  changes.     Monday  there  was  a 

as  new  council.  The  Comte  d'Artois,  strengthened  by 
the  success  of  the  evening  and  thinking  that  he  had 
gained  the  queen  for  his  side,  was  more  violent  than 
ever.  The  guard  of  the  seals,  Villedeuil,  the  minister 
of  Paris,  and  the  four  councilors  of  state  supported 
11  149 


The  French   Revolution 

him,  and  the  king  decided  to  maintain  the  ancient 
constitution,  that  is  to  say,  the  custom  of  the  three 
orders,  with  exceptions,  which  he  was  contented  to 
ask  and  not  to  command.     One  would  scarcely  be- 

s  lieve  that  the  Comte  d'Artois  could  have  brought 
himself  to  advise  a  course  which  would  compromise 
so  cruelly  the  royal  authority  and  whose  baleful 
results  were  incalculable.  This  conduct  is  all  the 
more    condemnable    and    inconsiderate    when    one 

io  thinks  that  its  principal  end  was  to  disgust  M.  Necker 
to  the  point  of  forcing  him  to  ask  for  his  dismissal, 
which  he  would  have  done  immediately  had  he  not 
been  restrained  at  this  time  by  the  fear  of  the  fright- 
ful misfortunes  that  his  withdrawal  would  bring  in 

is  its  train.  He  believed  that  he  should  give  it  only 
at  the  moment  when  he  had  lost  all  hope  of  being 
useful  to  the  nation,  to  which  he  was  devoted.  But 
profoundly  wounded  by  such  conduct,  he  resolved 
not  to  appear  at  the  royal  session.     This  extreme 

20  course  announced  to  the  king  and  to  all  the  nation 
that  he  did  not  approve  the  plans  that  had  been 
proposed.  The  third  estate,  after  having  heard  the 
declaration  of  the  king,  passed  a  decree  by  which  it 
rejected  in  full  the  plan  that  his  majesty  had  pro- 

25  posed  to  it.  Meanwhile,  the  report  had  spread  that 
the  king  having  declined  to  accept  the  plan  of  Necker, 
he  had  chosen  the  alternative  of  resigning.  This 
news  very  soon  spread  a  universal  alarm.  All  of 
the  third  estate  and  a  part  of  the  nobility  came  to 

150 


The  Royal  Session   of  June   23,  1789 

him.  Two  thousand  persons  were  at  his  door.  The 
king  and  the  queen,  not  doubting  but  that  M. 
Necker  wished  to  give  his  resignation,  sent  for  him. 
The  third  estate,  the  people,  accompanied  him  with 

s  cries  to  the  chateau.  Necker  entered.  The  king 
and  the  queen  urgently  asked  him  to  remain,  making 
a  thousand  promises  of  confidence,  due  perhaps  more 
to  the  moment  than  to  their  true  intention.  Urged 
by  his  duty  of  preserving  as  far  as  he  was  able  the 

10  fortunes  of  an  infinite  number  of  families,  who  had 
loaned  money  to  the  king  only  through  the  con- 
fidence that  they  had  in  him;  urged  by  the  nation 
and  by  the  king,  he  promised  to  remain.  When  he 
left,  this  news  spread,  and  never  have  the  transports 

is  of  the  public  gone  farther,  never  has  the  enthusiasm 
of  a  nation  had  a  more  touching  character.  His 
house  was  illuminated,  and  the  name  of  the  king  ap- 
peared there,  and  his  also.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
learned  that  at  Paris  the  populace  was  in  such  de- 

20  spair  at  losing  Necker  that  the  greatest  misfortunes 
were  to  be  feared,  if  he  persisted  in  his  resolution. 
I  am,  however,  still  ignorant  as  to  whether  he  has 
acquired  the  necessary  ascendency  to  struggle  against 
the  intrigue  of  the  Comte  d'Artois. 

25  The  majority  of  the  clergy  went  to  the  national 
assembly  yesterday,  and  this  morning  forty-seven 
noblemen,  among  whom  the  Due  d' Orleans  and  the 
greatest  names  of  France  are  counted.  The  majority 
of  the  nobility  and  the  minority  of  the  clergy  resolved 

151 


-The  French  Revolution 

to  accept  the  plans  of  the  king  as  his  majesty  proposed 
them.  The  third  estate,  having  now  become  the 
national  assembly,  will  not  accept  them.  But  as  the 
great  dispute  among  them  is  as  to  whether  they  shall 

5  deliberate  in  common  upon  the  organization  of  the 
states  general,  it  is  hoped  that  the  king  will  ask  the 
nobility  to  renounce  this  modification  of  his  plan, 
and  there  will  only  remain  the  statement  of  seig- 
norial  rights  for  the  nobility  and  matters  of  religion 

io  for  the  clergy.  All  will  be  agreed.  The  time  is 
very  critical,  for  the  people  grossly  insulted  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris  yesterday,  and  if  they  are  not  stopped 
they  will  take  this  culpable  manner  of  forcing  action. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  the  people  mix  in  these  affairs, 

15  but  when  once  affairs  reach  such  a  point  the  people 
are  sovereign. 
15.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance,  99. 

Paris,  June  2Q,  ij8g. 
In  the  squares  and  in  the  streets  one  sees  only 

20  crowds  of  people  talking  of  the  states  general ;  one 
hears  the  words  Third  Estate  and  Nation  con- 
stantly repeated  and  forming  everywhere  a  deafen- 
ing echo.  The  baggage  carriers,  the  clerks,  the  fish- 
wives even  take  a  hand  in  these  conversations.     In 

as  the  stores  the  clerks  neglect  the  customers  to  occupy 
themselves  only  with  politics;  finally,  the  words 
"Third  Estate"  become  a  war-cry,  and  all  the 
speeches  one  hears  are  those  of  men  capable  of  any- 
thing   if    the  nobility  and  clergy  persist  in  their 

152 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

declarations.  The  French  at  this  moment  bear 
little  resemblance  to  the  French  of  the  month  of 
June  of  last  year.  Saturday,  the  20th,  at  Versailles, 
the  royal  session  was  proclaimed  for  the  2 2d.     Mon- 

s  day  morning  it  was  postponed  until  the  next  day, 
the  23d.  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  cause  of  this  de- 
lay; it  is  generally  attributed  to  the  changes  made 
in  the  speeches  with  which  M.  Necker  had  been 
charged,  and  which  M.  Vidaud  de  la  Tour,  master 

10  of  requests,  and  M.  de  Barentin  had  occasioned  by 
the  objections  they  made  without  number,  at  the 
instigation,  it  is  suspected,  of  a  third  person.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  these  objections  having,  it  is  said, 
disgusted  M.  Necker,  made  clear  to  him  at  the  same 

is  time  that  the  intention  was  to  wreck  his  plan  and 
push  the  king  to  make  use  of  his  authority.  It  is 
added  that  he  did  all  he  could  to  prevent  his  majesty 
from  having  read  at  the  royal  session  the  speech,  or 
rather  the  declaration  of  the  guard  of  the  seals, 

20  assuring  him  that  it  would  displease  the  third  estate. 
Seeing  that  the  king  persisted  in  his  intention, 
Necker  presented  his  resignation.  In  fact,  it  was 
the  report  of  the  dismissal  of  this  minister,  so  dear 
to  the  people,  rather  than  the  declaration  of  the  king, 

25  which  nearly  produced  a  bloody  revolt.  .  .  .  The  23d, 
terrible  day,  on  which  the  storm  formed  and  almost 
at  once  passed  away,  the  king  betook  himself  to  the 
assembly.  Having  seated  himself  on  the  throne,  he 
cast  his  eyes  about  to  find  Necker.     He  did  not  see 

iS3 


The  French  Revolution 

him  and  waited  a  minute,  after  which  he  read  his 
speech.  ...  He  thereupon  ordered  the  deputies  of  the 
three  orders  to  retire  into  the  chambers  belonging 
to  each.     Cries  of  "Vive  le  roi!"  were  heard  when  his 

s  majesty  rose  to  leave  the  hall.  The  people  who 
had  gathered  in  crowds  and  were  awaiting  with  im- 
patience at  the  doors  the  end  of  this  session,  on 
hearing  these  acclamations,  believed  the  Tiers  had 
won  their  cause.     They  joined  at  once  to  the  ac- 

io  clamations  their  shouts  of  joy,  but  they  soon  ceased. 
Not  seeing  any  deputy  of  the  third  estate  leave  the 
hall,  in  spite  of  the  orders  of  the  king,  and  those 
which  the  Marquis  de  Breze  had  repeated  to  them 
in  the  name  of  his  majesty,  the  people  suspected 

is  something,  asked  questions,  and,  the  answer  having 
confirmed  their  suspicions,  the  multitude  rushed  to 
the  doors  of  the  chateau.  The  officers  cried:  "To 
arms!  On  guard!  Stop  them!"  The  French  and 
Swiss  guards  seized  their  muskets,  but  did  not  offer 

20  the  least  resistance  to  the  crowd.  It  penetrated 
even  to  the  royal  apartments,  at  the  doors  of  which 
the  firmness  of  the  body  guard  checked  the  most 
mutinous.  They  demanded,  however,  in  threaten- 
ing tones  that  M.  Necker  be  restored  to  them.     This 

25  minister  showed  himself  at  once.  "Retire,  calm 
yourselves,  gentlemen,"  he  said;  "the  king  and 
queen  have  sent  for  me."  In  fact,  the  conversation 
lasted  an  hour  and  a  half;  the  minister  came  out 
with  a  satisfied  air.     At  the  moment  he  entered 

i54 


The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,  1789 

his  carriage  the  crowd  called  to  him,  "Monsieur 
Necker,  will  you  stay?"  The  "yes"  was  not  pro- 
nounced distinctly;  or,  rather,  was  it  not  clearly 
understood?     M.  Necker  was  borne  in  triumph  to 

s  his  residence,  and  there  a  more  categorical  reply  was 
awaited.  At  the  end  of  a  few  minutes  a  "Yes,  he 
is  going  to  stay,  he  will  never  leave  again  "  made 
itself  heard  from  the  top  of  the  staircase  to  the  end 
of  the  street.     The  people  then  retired,  satisfied  by 

10  the  return  of  the  favorite.  The  report  of  the  dis- 
missal of  M.  Necker  reached  Paris  as  soon  as  it  was 
learned  at  Versailles.  It  is  impossible  to  picture  the 
consternation  of  the  Parisians.  If  there  had  been 
a  delay  of  a  few  hours  in  learning  that  M.  Necker 

is  was  retained,  one  would  have  been  the  spectator  of 
a  horrible  catastrophe. 
16.  Jefferson,   Correspondence,   letter  to  John  Jay, 

II,  483. 

Paris,  June  24^  178Q. 

20  Sir, — My  letter  of  the  17th  and  18th  gave  you 
the  progress  of  the  states  general  to  the  17th,  when 
the  Tiers  had  declared  the  illegality  of  all  the  taxes 
and  their  discontinuance  from  the  end  of  their 
present  session.     The  next  day,  being  a  jour  de  fite, 

25  could  furnish  no  indication  of  the  impression  that 
the  vote  was  likely  to  make  on  the  government. 
On  the  19th  a  council  was  held  at  Marly,  in  the 
afternoon.  It  was  there  proposed  that  the  king 
should  interpose  by  a  declaration  of  his  sentiments 

i55 


The  French   Revolution 

in  a  seance  royale.  The  declaration  prepared  by 
M.  Necker,  while  it  censured,  in  general,  the  pro- 
ceedings both  of  the  nobles  and  the  commons, 
announced  the  king's  views,  such  as  substantially 

s  to  coincide  with  the  commons.  It  was  agreed 
to  in  council,  as  also  that  the  seance  royale  should 
be  held  on  the  2 2d  and  the  meetings  till  then  be 
suspended.  ...  It  was  intimated  to  them  [the 
commons],  however,  that  day  [June  20th],  privately, 

10  that  the  proceedings  of  the  seance  royale  would  be 
favorable  to  them.  The  next  day  they  met  in  a 
church  and  were  joined  by  a  majority  of  the  clergy. 
The  heads  of  the  aristocracy  saw  that  all  was  lost 
without  some  violent  exertion.     The  king  was  still 

is  at  Marly.  Nobody  was  permitted  to  approach  him 
but  their  friends.  He  was  assailed  by  lies  in  all 
shapes.  He  was  made  to  believe  that  the  commons 
were  going  to  absolve  the  army  from  their  oath  of 
fidelity  to  him  and  to  raise  their  pay.  .  .  .  They  pro- 

20  cured  a  committee  to  be  held,  consisting  of  the  king 
and  his  ministers,  to  which  monsieur  and  the  Comte 
d'Artois  should  be  admitted.  At  this  committee 
the  latter  attacked  M.  Necker  personally,  arraigned 
his  plans,  and  proposed  one  which  some  of  his  en- 

25  emies  had  put  into  his  hands.  M.  Necker,  whose 
characteristic  is  want  of  firmness,  was  browbeaten 
and  intimidated,  and  the  king  shaken.  He  deter- 
mined that  the  two  plans  should  be  deliberated  on 
the  next  day  and  the  seance  royale  put  off  a  day 

156 


The  Royal  Session  of  June   23,  1789 

longer.  This  encouraged  a  fiercer  attack  on  M. 
Necker  the  next  day ;  his  plan  was  totally  dislocated, 
and  that  of  the  Comte  d'Artois  inserted  into  it. 
Himself  and  M.  de  Montmorin  offered  their  resigna- 

s  tion,  which  was  refused;  the  Comte  d'Artois  saying 
to  M.  Necker:  "No,  sir,  you  must  be  kept  as  the 
hostage ;  we  hold  you  responsible  for  all  the  ill  which 
shall  happen."  This  change  of  plan  was  immediate- 
ly whispered  without  doors.     The  nobility  were  in 

10  triumph,  the  people  in  consternation.  When  the 
king  passed,  the  next  day,  through  the  lane  they 
formed  from  the  Chdteau  to  the  Hotel  des  Stats  (about 
half  a  mile),  there  was  a  dead  silence.  He  was  about 
an  hour  in  the  house,   delivering  his  speech  and 

is  declaration,  copies  of  which  I  inclose  you.  On  his 
coming  out  a  feeble  cry  of  "Vive  le  rot!"  was  raised 
by  some  children;  but  the  people  remained  silent 
and  sullen.  When  the  Due  d'Orleans  followed,  how- 
ever,  their  applauses   were   excessive.     This   must 

20  have  been  sensible  to  the  king.  He  had  ordered,  in 
the  close  of  his  speech,  that  the  members  should  fol- 
low him  and  resume  their  deliberations  the  next  day. 
The  Noblesse  followed  him,  and  so  did  the  clergy, 
except  about  thirty,  who,  with  the  Tiers,  remained 

as  in  the  room  and  entered  into  deliberation.  They 
protested  against  what  the  king  had  done,  adhered 
to  all  their  former  proceedings,  and  resolved  the 
inviolability  of  their  own  persons.  An  officer  came 
twice  to  order  them  out  of  the  room,  in  the  king's 

iS7 


The  French   Revolution 

name,  but  they  refused  to  obey.  In  the  afternoon 
the  people,  uneasy,  began  to  assemble  in  great  num- 
bers in  the  courts  and  vicinities  of  the  palace.  The 
queen  was  alarmed  and  sent  for  M.  Necker.     He 

s  was  conducted  amid  the  shouts  and  acclamations 
of  the  multitude  who  filled  all  the  apartments  of  the 
palace.  He  was  a  few  minutes  only  with  the  queen, 
and  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  with  the  king. 
Not  a  word  has  transpired  of  what  passed  at  these 

io  interviews.  The  king  was  just  going  out  to  ride. 
He  passed  through  the  crowd  to  his  carriage  and  into 
it  without  being  in  the  least  noticed.  As  M.  Necker 
followed  him  universal  acclamations  were  raised  of 
"Vive  Monsieur  Necker,  vive  le  sauveur  de  la  France 

is  opprimee"  He  was  conducted  back  to  his  house 
with  the  same  demonstrations  of  affection  and 
anxiety.  About  two  hundred  deputies  of  the  Tiers, 
catching  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment,  went  to  his 
house  and  extorted  from  him  a  promise  that  he 

20  would  not  resign.  These  circumstances  must  wound 
the  heart  of  the  king,  desirous  as  he  is  to  possess  the 
affections  of  his  subjects.  As  soon  as  the  proceed- 
ings at  Versailles  were  known  at  Paris  a  run  be- 
gan on  the  Caisse  d'escompte,   which   is  the   first 

25  symptom  always  of  the  public  diffidence  and 
alarm.  It  is  the  less  in  condition  to  meet  the 
run,  as  M.  Necker  has  been  forced  to  make  free 
with  its  funds  for  the  daily  support  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

158 


The  Royal  Session  of  June  23,  1789 

17.  Barante,  Lettres  et  instructions  de  Louis  XVIII., 
xcvi. 
Already  the  chamber  of  the  third  estate  had  de- 
clared  itself   the   national   assembly.     M.    Necker 

s  then  felt  the  necessity  of  abandoning  the  reserve 
that  he  had  shown  and  of  causing  the  royal  authority 
to  take  a  part  in  the  solution  of  the  problems  in  dis- 
pute between  the  nobility  and  the  third  estate,  and 
he  decided  even  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  con- 

10  stitution.  It  was  with  the  preliminary  consent  of 
the  king  that  he  occupied  himself  with  this  matter; 
it  was  to  be  definitely  adopted  at  Marly.  Every- 
thing at  that  time  was  done  in  such  haste  that  it 
was  in  the  carriage,  on  the  way  from  Versailles  to 

is  Marly,  that  M.  Necker  communicated  to  M.  de 
Saint-Priest  and  M.  de  Luzerne  the  propositions 
that  the  council  was  to  consider.  Before  it  began, 
the  queen  wished  to  see  M.  Necker.  He  found  her 
with  her  brothers.     His  work  had  been  shown  to 

20  them.  All  made  a  great  effort  to  induce  him  not  to 
present  his  project.     He  was  immovable. 


PROBLEM    III 
HI. — The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 


The   Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 


A.   THE   HISTORIC   SETTING   OF  THE   PROBLEM 

BETWEEN  the  royal  session  of  June  23d  and  the 
October  insurrection  events  of  far-reaching  impor- 
tance had  taken  place  in  France,  events  of  which  this  in- 
surrection was  the  natural  consequence.  Until  July,  1 789, 
the  revolutionary  movement  centered  in  the  activities  of 
the  assembly  at  Versailles;  after  July  nth  it  spread 
rapidly  to  the  whole  of  France  and  entered  upon  a  new 
and  larger  phase. 

Louis  XVI.  had  failed  to  carry  through  his  pro- 
gram on  June  23d,  but  he  did  not  abandon  it.  The 
military  force  in  and  around  Versailles  was  not  sufficient 
to  overcome  the  possible  resistance  of  Versailles,  and 
especially  of  Paris,  and  the  temper  of  the  people  in  both 
places  was  such  that  the  government  hesitated  to  resort 
to  extreme  measures  with  the  commons  without  sufficient 
military  support.  In  the  last  week  in  June,  the  govern- 
ment temporized  while  moving  troops  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible to  the  neighborhood  of  Paris  and  Versailles.  The 
commons  and  the  public  did  not,  however,  allow  the 
government  to  carry  out  its  program  unhampered.  On 
June  24th,  although  the  hall  was  surrounded  by  troops 
and  troops  were  even  posted  within  the  building  to  keep 
the  orders  in  their  separate  halls,  and  although  the  public 
was  excluded  from  the  hall  of  the  commons,  the  majority 

163 


The  French  Revolution 

of  the  clergy  joined  the  commons  in  the  large  hall  on 
that  day.  June  25th  the  assembly  was  increased  by 
the  addition  of  the  minority  of  the  nobility.  It  is  true 
that  these  additions  might  be  interpreted  in  two  ways; 
but  the  public,  at  least,  assumed  that  they  meant  the 
existence  of  a  single  assembly,  the  vote  by  head  and  the 
reform  of  France.  The  large  majority  of  the  deputies 
now  sat  in  one  assembly;  the  public  was  impatient  at  the 
resistance  of  the  minority  and  agitated  by  the  rumors  of 
an  appeal  to  force  and  a  dissolution  of  the  assembly — per- 
haps accompanied  by  bankruptcy — now  circulating  both 
in  Paris  and  Versailles.  Rioting  broke  out  in  Versailles, 
and  it  was  feared  the  chateau  might  be  attacked.  The 
king  decided  to  yield  a  step  and  gain  time  for  the  gather- 
ing of  military  force.  In  his  declarations  of  June  23d 
he  had  not  ordered  the  clergy  and  nobility  to  join  the 
commons  for  the  consideration  of  questions  of  common 
interests;  he  had  pointed  out  the  wisdom  of  such  a  course 
and  expressed  the  hope  that  they  might  follow  it.  On 
June  2  7th  he  wrote  to  the  two  orders  asking  them  to  join 
the  third  estate  for  the  purpose  of  considering  his  decla- 
rations. The  nobility  were  inclined  to  resist,  and  it  was 
only  on  the  representation  of  the  Comte  d'Artois  that  the 
king's  life  would  be  in  danger,  if  they  did  not  go  to  the 
common  hall,  that  they  finally  yielded.  Great  was  the 
rejoicing  of  the  public,  which  naturally  interpreted  the 
union  of  the  orders  in  a  manner  favorable  to  their  own 
wishes.  The  assembly,  it  assumed,  is  now  complete;  let 
the  work  of  making  the  constitution  begin.  And  it  did 
begin.  Disregarding  the  protests  of  clergy  and  nobility, 
realizing  that  the  fait  accompli  is  the  most  irresistible  of 
arguments,  the  majority  appointed  a  committee  to  pre- 
pare a  program  for  work.     This  was  July  6th. 

Meanwhile  the  army  was  gathering,  and  reports  of 

164 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

counter-revolution  circulated  and  were  even  printed  in 
Paris  and  Versailles.  It  is  not  clear,  even  to-day,  just 
what  Louis  XVI.  had  in  mind,  but  it  was  probably  his 
intention  to  force  through  his  program  of  June  23d, 
dissolving  the  assembly  if  it  resisted.  The  army  was 
needed  to  hold  Paris  in  check.  And  each  day  the  fear 
of  Paris  increased,  and  it  was  felt  by  the  supporters  of  the 
reactionary  movement  that  if  they  were  to  succeed  they 
must  act  at  once.  For  the  people  of  Paris  were  talking  of 
arming  themselves,  of  forming  a  citizen  guard,  and  the 
French  Guard — several  thousand  regular  troops  stationed 
in  Paris — had  already  made  clear  that  they  would  not 
fire  on  their  fellow  citizens.  Some  who  had  been  ar- 
rested for  insubordination  and  thrown  into  prison  were  re- 
leased by  the  populace  and  guarded  in  the  Palais  Royal. 
This  was  on  June  30th.  Finally,  the  national  assembly 
protested  to  the  king  against  the  presence  of  the  troops 
in  Versailles  as  an  infringement  upon  the  liberty  of  de- 
bate and  asked  him  to  send  them  away.  Under  the  pre- 
text that  they  were  needed  to  keep  order  in  Paris,  the 
king  declined  to  grant  the  request  of  the  assembly. 

Before  the  plans  of  the  government  had  been  perfected, 
while  many  of  the  troops  were  still  on  the  march,  the  coup 
d'etat  was  precipitated  on  July  nth  by  the  dismissal  of 
Necker.  Not  until  the  next  day  did  the  fact  become 
known  in  Paris;  and  when,  in  the  afternoon  of  Sunday, 
June  12th,  the  people  of  the  Palais  Royal  protested  against 
the  action  of  the  government  and  went  in  procession 
through  the  streets  carrying  busts  of  Necker  and  the 
popular  hero,  the  Due  d'Orleans,  the  July  revolution  had 
begun.  It  needed  only  the  clash  between  the  troops  and 
the  demonstrators,  followed  by  the  shedding  of  the  blood 
of  citizens,  to  produce  an  outburst  of  anger  which  armed 
France  and  stripped  the  king  of  his  authority.     The  re- 

12  165 


The  French  Revolution 

action  lacked  efficient  leadership,  was  handicapped  by 
the  vacillation  of  the  king  and  by  the  unreliability  of  the 
troops,  even  of  the  foreign  regiments.  On  July  13th  the 
people  took  possession  of  the  city  government  of  Paris  and 
began  to  organize  a  militia;  on  July  14th  it  invaded  the 
Invalides  and  provided  itself  with  arms,  and  on  the  same 
day,  led  by  the  French  Guards,  who  had  gone  over  to  the 
people  in  a  body — minus  their  officers — the  Bastille  was 
forced  to  surrender.  The  insurrection  was  master  of 
Paris.  On  the  fifteenth  the  king  capitulated,  recognized 
the  national  assembly,  and  asked  its  assistance  in  quiet- 
ing Paris.  On  July  16th  the  emigration  of  the  members 
of  the  reactionary  party  began,  and  on  the  seventeenth 
the  king  went  to  Paris  and  gave  his  approval  to  the  revo- 
lution, putting  in  his  hat  the  revolutionary  red-and-blue 
cockade. 

With  extraordinary  rapidity  the  revolt  spread  from 
Paris  over  France.  Everywhere  a  militia  was  formed, 
and  the  city  government  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
middle  class.  From  the  cities,  the  movement  swept  on 
into  the  country.  It  was  "the  great  fear,"  the  fear  of 
brigands  and  foreign  troops,  who  never  appeared,  which 
put  arms  into  the  hands  of  the  peasants  and  made  them 
masters  of  their  own  fate.  Up  to  this  time  the  revolution 
had  been  largely  concerned  with  political  questions; 
nothing  had  been  said — or  very  little — about  feudal  rights 
and  the  interests  of  the  peasant  farmers.  To  the  peasants 
the  question  of  the  abolition  of  feudal  rights  was  not  one 
for  debate,  but  for  action.  When  should  they  have  an- 
other such  opportunity?  The  central  authority  had  dis- 
appeared, the  armed  force  was  in  their  hands.  Who 
could  oppose  them  if  they  swept  away  forever  the  op- 
pressive survivals  of  the  feudal  system?  Peasant  bands, 
accompanied    by   notaries,  marched   to  the   chateaux, 

166 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5  and  6,  1789 

opened  the  archives,  and,  carrying  away  the  proofs  of 
feudal  rights,  burned  them  in  the  courts  of  the  chateaux 
or  in  the  village  squares.  There  was  violence  when  the 
owner  resisted,  there  were  demands  of  entertainment, 
and  many  indications  that  not  even  the  honorary  dis- 
tinctions of  the  noble  would  be  tolerated;  but  the  violence 
has  been  exaggerated,  and  the  whole  subject  has  been 
superficially  treated.  The  peasants  disposed  in  a  sum- 
mary way  of  abuses  long  since  condemned  and  undeserv- 
ing of  perpetuation.  It  was  not  what  they  did  so  much 
as  the  way  in  which  they  did  it  that  was  to  cause  trouble. 
The  July  insurrection,  the  peasant  uprising,  had  put  an 
end  to  arbitrary  government,  to  the  political  independence 
of  the  privileged  classes  and  the  remnants  of  the  feudal 
system.  But  all  this  must  be  legalized.  From  all  over 
France  reports  came  in  to  the  assembly  of  the  violent 
deeds  of  the  peasants.  The  destruction  of  feudal  titles 
had  stripped  many  members  of  the  assembly  of  a  large 
part  of  their  revenues.  Something  must  be  done.  A 
committee  was  appointed,  the  last  week  in  July,  to  receive 
these  reports  and  recommend  some  action  to  the  assem- 
bly. On  August  3d  the  committee  reported  advising  an 
address  to  the  people,  in  which  they  were  urged  to  obey 
the  laws  and  pay  their  dues  until  the  assembly  should 
have  made  the  constitution  and  reformed  all  these  mat- 
ters. The  report  was  not  accepted,  but,  with  other  prop- 
ositions made  in  this  session,  was  turned  over  to  another 
committee  for  revision.  On  the  night  of  August  4th  the 
committee  submitted  a  report,  differing  but  little  from 
the  report  of  the  previous  day.  It  was  hardly  discussed. 
As  the  result  of  an  agreement  among  the  liberal  members 
of  the  assembly,  made  the  previous  night,  a  proposition 
was  submitted  to  abolish  all  feudal  rights  in  consideration 
of  a  payment  for  those  recognized  as  property  rights. 

167 


The  French  Revolution 

This  marked  the  opening  of  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
sessions  in  the  history  of  the  national  assembly.  Clergy, 
nobility,  and  third  estate  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
sacrifice  of  feudal  rights  and  privileges  which  had  sepa- 
rated class  from  class,  province  from  province,  and  city 
from  city.  When  all  the  motions  had  been  passed,  a  new 
France  existed,  but  a  France  destined  to  be  torn  by  dis- 
cord in  the  attempt  to  formulate  legally  the  new  social 
status  of  its  members.  Nor  was  the  night  of  August  4th 
simply  the  result  of  a  "wild  orgy."  A  careful  reading  of 
the  contemporary  accounts  makes  clear  that  the  delegates 
had  not  entirely  lost  their  heads.  The  nobles  were  not 
unwilling  to  exchange  their  feudal  rights  for  cash;  the 
destruction  of  the  records  made  it  necessary  to  compensate 
them  for  the  loss  of  rights  which  could  never  be  restored. 
Besides  economic  problems,  the  decree  of  August  4th 
dealt  with  political,  judicial,  and  ecclesiastical  matters. 
All  of  these  changes,  however,  were  to  go  into  effect  when 
the  assembly  had  worked  out  the  legal  machinery.  Mean- 
while, the  old  laws  and  regulations  would  be  for  the  most 
part  valid. 

The  report  of  the  committee  on  August  4th  had  inter- 
rupted the  work  of  the  assembly  on  the  constitution.  The 
first  committee,  already  referred  to,  had  reported,  sug- 
gesting an  outline  of  work  and  indicating  a  declaration  of 
rights  as  the  first  question  to  be  considered  by  the  assem- 
bly. A  new  and  smaller  committee  was  then  chosen. 
This  committee  made  a  report  the  latter  part  of  July, 
and  its  report  led  to  a  debate  upon  the  questions  as  to 
whether  there  should  be  a  declaration  of  rights,  and  if  so, 
whether  it  should  precede  the  constitution,  be  issued 
before  the  constitution  was  finished,  or  should  form  the 
first  chapter  of  the  constitution  and  not  appear  until  the 
constitution — showing  the  application  of  the  declaration 

168 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

— was  finished.  On  the  morning  of  August  4th  the  assem- 
bly voted  that  there  should  be  a  declaration,  and  that  it 
should  be  finished  before  the  work  on  the  constitution  had 
begun.  After  the  debates  upon  the  feudal  rights  and 
their  final  formulation  the  assembly  took  up  the  declara- 
tion of  rights  and  voted  a  series  of  articles,  formulating 
the  fundamental  principles  underlying  every  well-or- 
ganized society.  After  voting  seventeen  articles  the 
assembly  decided  to  give  no  more  time  to  the  matter 
for  the  present,  and  turned  to  the  consideration  of  the 
committee's  report  dealing  with  the  monarchy  and  the 
organization  oi  the  legislative  power.  Of  the  debates 
which  followed  during  the  first  days  of  September  the 
most  important  were  those  dealing  with  the  right  of  royal 
veto  and  the  organization  of  the  legislative  body.  Shall 
the  king  have  the  right  to  veto,  absolutely,  the  acts  of  the 
assembly?  Shall  there  be  an  upper  and  a  lower  house, 
or  shall  there  be  but  a  single  chamber?  The  question  of 
the  veto  power  of  the  king  raised  the  question  of  his  right 
to  veto  the  constitution,  hence  to  prevent  the  limitation 
of  his  power  and  the  reorganization  of  France ;  the  problem 
of  an  upper  and  lower  house  was  complicated  by  the  ex- 
istence of  three  orders  and  the  fact  that  younger  sons  also 
possessed  titles.  Suppose  an  upper  house  were  created  to 
contain  clergy  and  nobility;  would  not  such  a  house  be 
reactionary  and  render  a  reorganization  of  France  im- 
possible? These  were  all  practical  political  problems,  and 
were  considered  from  the  point  of  view  of  practical  poli- 
tics. The  assembly  gave  the  king  a  limited  veto,  estab- 
lished a  single  chamber,  and  declined  to  recognize  the 
members  of  that  chamber  as  the  representatives  of  orders. 
The  last  of  September  the  foundations  of  the  constitu- 
tions had  been  laid.  What  was  the  attitude  of  the  king 
toward  all  this?    What  the  attitude  of  the  privileged 

169 


The  French  Revolution 

classes?  Open  resistance,  an  appeal  to  arms  after  the 
July  insurrection  was  out  of  the  question.  The  revolu- 
tion might,  however,  be  blocked.  The  king  and  his 
ministers  were  in  control  of  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment; the  assembly  wished  to  make  him  a  part,  but  a 
harmless  part,  of  the  new  government.  Suppose  that 
publicly  he  reiterated  his  sympathy  for  the  new  state  of 
things  and  privately  opposed  the  changes  made  by  the 
assembly?  Suppose  he  should  not  take  the  declaration 
of  rights  seriously,  should  not  make  public  nor  attempt 
to  execute  the  August  decrees,  should  withhold  his  ap- 
proval from  the  first  articles  of  the  constitution?  Sup- 
pose he  even  thought  of  retiring  to  a  frontier  city  like 
Metz  and  from  there  attempting  to  carry  out  the  counter- 
revolution which  had  failed  in  July?  Suppose  many  of 
the  nobility  and  clergy,  and  some  of  the  members  of  the 
third  estate — grown  conservative  through  fear  of  the 
lower  classes — stood  ready  to  second  such  a  movement; 
what  could  be  done  ?  And  to  add  to  the  difficulties  there 
was  the  constant  danger  of  a  famine  in  Paris  and  an  up- 
rising of  the  people  demanding  bread.  Paris  was  not 
fully  satisfied  with  the  work  of  the  assembly,  and  attempts 
had  been  made  to  go  to  Versailles  to  force  more  radical 
action.  Lafayette  and  his  guards  had  prevented  this, 
but  it  was  feared  that  he  might  not  always  be  able  to 
control  the  guards,  especially  the  paid  troops,  consisting 
of  the  old  French  Guards.  For  these  guards  had  formerly 
shared  with  the  body  guards  the  honor  of  guarding  the 
king.  They  wished  to  bring  the  king  to  Paris  and  renew 
their  old  duties.  The  fear  of  a  Parisian  invasion  had  led 
the  king,  in  the  last  days  of  September,  with  the  approval 
of  the  city  government  of  Versailles  and  the  national 
assembly,  to  call  to  Versailles  the  regiment  of  Flanders. 
Its  arrival  created  trouble  in  Versailles  and  called  forth 

170 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

protests  from  the  Paris  commune.  It  was  believed  that 
the  king's  party  intended  to  use  the  regiment  for  illegiti- 
mate purposes,  perhaps  to  cover  a  retreat  to  Metz.  The 
situation  was  not  improved  when  the  body  guards  gave 
a  banquet  in  the  chateau  to  the  officers  of  the  regiment  of 
Flanders.  It  was  a  royalist  affair,  the  king  and  queen 
being  present  and  enthusiastically  toasted.  It  was  repre- 
sented as  an  anti-national  affair;  there  were  no  toasts  to 
the  national  assembly,  and  it  was  reported  that  the 
national  cockade  was  trampled  under  foot.  Add  to  all 
these  things  the  intrigues — whatever  they  may  have  been — 
of  the  Due  d' Orleans  and  his  creatures,  and  it  is  evident 
that  inflammable  material  enough  existed.  Only  the 
spark  was  needed  to  create  a  conflagration.  This  was 
furnished  by  the  women  of  Paris  who,  on  the  morning  of 
October  5th,  invaded  the  city  hall,  moved  by  the  fear 
of  a  bread  famine.  As  the  uprising  developed,  it  drew 
in  all  the  other  groups,  who  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  to  realize  their  desires. 

B.   CRITICAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

i.  Procbs- verbal  de  Vassemblee  nationale.  See  bibli- 
ography of  Problem  I. 

2.  Abrege  des  cir Constances  du  depart  de  Louis  XVI. 
pour  Paris,  le  6  Octobre,  1789,  par  M.  de  Saint-Priest. 
This  account  of  the  October  days  was  written  by  Saint- 
Priest  and  published  in  1822  in  the  notes  to  the  Memoir es 
de  Madame  Campan  (Paris,  3  vols.),  II,  292-310,  the 
editor  obtaining  the  manuscript  from  the  son  of  M.  de 
Saint-Priest.  Saint-Priest  was  born  in  1735  and  died  in 
182 1.  He  was  a  member  of  the  body  guard  of  Louis 
XV.,  a  chevalier  of  the  order  of  Malta,  had  served  a  short 
time  as  ambassador  in  Portugal,  a  long  time  as  ambassador 

171 


The  French  Revolution 

in  Constantinople,  and  on  the  eve  of  the  national  assembly- 
was  an  ambassador  to  Holland.  In  the  fall  of  1788  he 
was  made  a  minister  to  the  king's  council  without  a  de- 
partment, and  after  his  return  to  the  ministry,  in  August, 
1789,  he  was  made  minister  of  the  interior,  holding  that 
position  until  January,  1791.  Saint-Priest  supported 
Necker  in  his  plan  for  a  royal  session,  and  went  out  of 
office  in  July,  1789,  at  the  time  of  the  attempted  coup 
d'etat.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  October  he  was  op- 
posed to  him.  The  extract  given  here  may  have  been  a 
part  of  the  incomplete  Memoir es  left  by  Saint-Priest, 
and  referred  to  by  his  editor,  M.  de  Barante,  in  the  intro- 
duction to  the  volume  of  "Lettres  et  instructions  de 
Louis  XVIII.  a  M.  de  Saint-Priest"  (Paris,  1845),  p.  ii. 
"In  the  last  part  of  his  life,"  wrote  M.  de  Barante,  " M.  de 
Saint-Priest  undertook  to  write  his  Memoires.  He  was 
not  able  to  finish  them  nor  to  revise  what  he  had  written. 
His  family  did  not  think  they  should  be  published,  but 
we  have  them  before  us,  and  we  cannot  do  better  than 
draw  upon  them  for  this  sketch"  [of  the  life  of  Saint- 
Priest]. 

3.  Necker,  De  la  revolution  frangaise.  See  the  bibliog- 
raphy of  Problem  II. 

4.  Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  Memoires,  6  vols.,  Paris,  1837. 
Lafayette  was  one  of  the  popular  heroes  of  the  early 
revolution.  He  had  been  an  officer  in  the  French  army 
which  had  helped  the  American  colonists  to  establish  their 
independence,  was  the  friend  of  Washington,  and  had  re- 
turned to  France  hoping  to  play  a  not  unlike  rdle  by  lead- 
ing his  own  countrymen  in  the  struggle  for  constitutional 
liberty.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  notables  in  1787, 
and  in  1789  was  a  member  of  the  chamber  of  the  nobility, 
favorable  to  union  with  the  commons  and  to  a  liberal 
constitution.     At  the  time  of  the  July  revolution  he  had 

172 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

been  made  general  of  the  Paris  militia,  organized  the 
national  guard,  and  gave  it  the  famous  tri-colored  cock- 
ade. At  the  time  of  the  October  insurrection  he  was  still 
a  member  of  the  national  assembly,  but  gave  the  most  of 
his  time  to  the  affairs  of  the  national  guard  of  Paris.  The 
six  volumes  of  Memoires  do  not  constitute  a  continuous 
narrative.  The  full  title  of  the  work,  Memoires,  corre- 
spondance,  et  manuscrits,  indicates  its  contents  correctly ; 
it  is  the  literary  remains  of  Lafayette.  The  letters  are 
the  most  valuable  material  for  the  historian.  The  nar- 
rative, written  for  the  most  part  years  after  the  events, 
has  the  least  value.  The  material  on  October  5th  and  6th 
is  one  of  two  accounts  by  Lafayette,  written  at  different 
times.  It  was  probably  written  after  1800.  Lafayette 
was  born  in  1757  and  died  in  1834. 

5.  Procedure  criminelle  instruite  au  ch&telet  de  Paris  sur 
la  denonciation  des  faits  arrives  a  Versailles  dans  la  journee 
du  6  Octobre,  1789.  Imprimee  par  ordre  de  Vassemblee 
nationale.  A  Paris,  Chez  Baudoin,  imprimeur  de  Vassem- 
blee nationale.  1790.  This  work  contains  nearly  four 
hundred  depositions  taken  by  the  judges  of  the  Chatelet, 
the  criminal  court  of  Paris,  on  the  events  of  October  5th 
and  6th.  The  investigation  was  begun  in  December,  1789, 
on  the  instigation  of  the  municipality  of  Paris.  The  last 
depositions  were  taken  in  July,  1790,  and  on  August  7th 
the  manuscript  was  laid  before  the  national  assembly. 
It  was  printed  by  Baudoin,  the  printing  being  completed 
September  19,  1790.  There  are  three  parts:  the  first 
part  (premiere  partie)  contains  270  pages;  the  second  part 
(suite)  contains  221,  and  the  third  (also  suite)  contains 
79.  Some  of  these  four  hundred  deponents  had  no  first- 
hand knowledge,  but  the  most  of  them  had  seen  some  of 
the  incidents  of  the  fifth  and  sixth,  and  drew  upon  their 
personal  recollections.     This   great  mass  of   testimony 

173 


The  French  Revolution 

constitutes  our  chief  source  of  information  for  the  dramatic 
uprising  of  October,  1789. 

6.  Salmour,  Comte  de,  Correspondence,  in  Flammer- 
mont,  Jules,  Les  correspondances  des  agents  diplomatique 's 
etr  angers  en  France  avant  la  revolution,  Paris,  1896.  The 
letter  is  found  on  pages  260-274.  The  Comte  de  Salmour 
had  been  the  minister  of  Saxony  at  the  French  court  since 
November,  1786.  He  was  "a  grand  seigneur  of  Italian 
origin,  had  been  educated  in  Turin,  where  his  family- 
had  established  itself;  he  possessed  property  in  Piedmont, 
among  others  the  estate  of  Salmour,  whose  name  he  bore. 
For  three  years  he  had  lived  at  Paris  with  the  Comte  de 
Vitry,  ambassador  of  the  king  of  Sardinia  to  the  court  of 
Versailles.  He  was  chamberlain  of  the  elector  of  Saxony. ' ' 
M.  de  Salmour  was  cordially  received  at  Versailles  by  the 
queen,  who  had  known  and  loved  his  mother,  and  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  inner  court  circle.  The  Baron  de  Besenval 
was  his  uncle.  He  thus  had  the  best  of  opportunities  to 
obtain  reliable  information,  and  his  letters  are  among  the 
fullest  and  most  reliable  of  all  the  letters  written  by  the 
ambassadors  then  accredited  to  the  court  of  Versailles. 

7.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance.    See  Problem  I. 

C.   QUESTIONS  FOR  STUDY 

i.  What  are  the  best  sources  in  this  collection  from  the  point 
of  view  of  {a)  opportunities  for  gaining  information 
and  (b)  time  of  writing? 

2.  Without  comparing  the  texts,  what  sources  might  be  de- 

pendent? 

3.  What  sources  are  clearly  independent? 

4.  Why  are  the  depositions,  although  the  accounts  of  eye  and 

ear  witnesses,  not  ideal  evidence — that  is  to  say,  these 
particular  depositions,  not  depositions  in  general? 

5.  What  were  the  causes  of  the  uprising  of  October  5th?    Can 

174 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

you  actually  prove  what  you  say  by  the  agreement  of 
independent  witnesses,  or  are  you  dependent  on  affirma- 
tions of  single  witnesses? 

6.  What  are  the  main  incidents  of  the  two  days,  and  how  many 

witnesses  have  you  for  each  incident? 

7.  At  what  time  in  the  morning  of  the  fifth  did  trouble  begin 

at  the  city  hall? 

8.  What  brought  the  people  together  at  the  city  hall?    What 

was  their  attitude  toward  the  city  government?  Is 
there  any  connection  between  this  and  the  sacking  of 
the  city  hall? 

9.  Describe  the  action  of  the  city  government.    What  im- 

pression does  it  make  on  you? 

10.  Why  did  the  women  go  to  Versailles? 

11.  Describe  the  significant  features  of  the  march,  that  is  (a) 

when  they  set  out,  (b)  how  many  there  were  of  them, 
(c)  how  they  conducted  themselves  en  route,  (d)  when 
they  arrived  in  Versailles,  (e)  what  they  did  after  they 
got  there.  Divide  each  large  incident  into  its  details 
and  gather  up  the  evidence  on  each  detail,  keeping  in 
mind  the  question  of  independence. 

12.  What  action  did  the  king  take  in  dealing  with  the  uprising? 

13.  Why  did  the  national  guards  wish  to  go  to  Versailles? 

14.  Why  did  Lafayette  oppose  them?    Some  writers  have  said 

his  opposition  was  perfunctory,  that  he  did  not  really 
object  to  going.    What  does  the  evidence  indicate? 

15.  How  large  a  force  did  Lafayette  have?    Into  what  groups 

did  the  force  fall,  and  what  was  the  character  of  each 
group? 

16.  When  did  Lafayette  leave  Paris,  and  when  did  he  reach 

Versailles? 

17.  What  happened  after  he  got  there? 

18.  What  had  the  women  accomplished  before  Lafayette  came? 

19.  What  was  the  situation  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 

the  fifth? 

20.  Describe  the  incidents  on  the  morning  of  the  sixth:   (a)  the 

killing  of  the  body  guards,   (b)  the  invasion  of  the 

175 


The  French  Revolution 

chateau,  (c)  the  rescue  work  of  Lafayette  and  the  guards, 
(d)  the  king  and  royal  family  before  the  crowd  and  the 
promise  to  go  to  Paris. 

21.  Describe  (a)  the  march  to  Paris,  (b)  the  reception  at  the  city 

hall. 

22.  Make  an  outline  of  the  facts  of  the  insurrection  and  write 

a  narrative,  citing  the  evidence. 


D.  The  Sources 

i.  Prods-verbal,  No.  92,  Monday,  October  5,  1789. 

The  president  having,  moreover,  in  accordance 

with  the  decree  of  the  first  of  this  month,  presented 

for  the  acceptance  of  the  king  the  declaration  of  the 

5  rights  of  man  in  society  and  the  nineteen  articles  of 
the  constitution  already  decreed,  read  the  reply  of 
his  majesty  conceived  in  these  terms: 

"Thus  confident  that  the  first  constitutional  arti- 
cles you  have  presented  to  me  brought  together  at 

10  the  end  of  your  work  will  fulfil  the  wish  of  my  peo- 
ples, and  will  assure  the  good  fortune  and  prosperity 
of  the  kingdom,  I  grant,  according  to  your  desire,  my 
consent  to  these  articles,  but  upon  one  positive  con- 
dition, and  from  which  I  will  never  depart,  it  is  that 

is  as  the  result  of  your  discussion  the  executive  power 
shall  remain  in  full  force  in  the  hands  of  the  monarch. 
...  I  do  not  explain  my  attitude  toward  your  declara- 
tion of  the  rights  of  man  and  of  the  citizen.  It 
contains  very  good  maxims,  proper  to  guide  your 

20  work,  but  principles  susceptible  of  different  appli- 
cations and  even  of  different  interpretations  can- 
not be  justly  appreciated,  and  have  need  of  being 

177 


The  French  Revolution 

so  only  at  the  moment  when  their  true  sense  is  fixed 
by  the  laws  to  which  they  ought  to  serve  as  the  chief 
foundation.     Signed,  Louis." 

After  a  second  reading  of  the  reply  of  the  king  to 

s  the  declaration  of  rights  and  the  nineteen  articles 
of  the  constitution  the  discussion  of  this  reply  com- 
menced. A  great  number  of  members,  uneasy  over 
anything  which  can  arouse  the  distrust  of  the  people 
or  make  possible  in  the  future  interpretations  harm- 

io  ful  to  public  liberty,  observed  that  if  the  king  did 
not  accept  at  once  the  declaration  of  rights  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  kingdom  might  be  compromised,  and 
that  the  consent  given  to  the  nineteen  articles  of  the 
constitution   decreed  up  to  this  time  ought  to  be 

is  pure  and  simple  for  the  same  reasons.  .  .  . 

The  assembly  passed  in  the  ordinary  form  the 
following  decree: 

"  The  national  assembly  has  decreed  that  the  presi- 
dent, at  the  head  of  a  deputation,  shall  go  to  the 

20  king  to-day  for  the  purpose  of  begging  his  majesty 
to  kindly  give  a  pure  and  simple  consent  to  the 
declaration  of  the  rights  of  man  and  of  the  citizen 
and  of  the  nineteen  articles  of  the  constitution  which 
have  been  presented  to  him."  .  .  > 

as  But  a  member  having  observed  that  the  deputies 
of  the  Vicomte,  and  those  of  the  city  of  Paris,  in 
the  national  assembly  had  assembled  in  the  course 
of  the  morning  to  consider  means  of  remedying  the 
alarming  scarcity  of  flour  in  Paris,  and  a  great  num- 

178 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

ber  of  the  citizenesses  and  some  citizens  having  been 
admitted  at  this  moment  to  the  bar,  where  they 
stated  that  it  was  urgently  necessary  to  occupy 
themselves  with  the  food  supply  of  this  city,  the 

s  assembly  decided  immediately  to  send  the  president 
to  the  king  with  those  of  the  deputies  who  cared 
to  accompany  him  to  ask  him  not  only  for  a  pure 
and  simple  consent  to  the  declaration  of  rights  and 
the  nineteen  decreed  articles  of  the  constitution,  but 

10  to  request  the  use  of  the  entire  executive  power  in 
the  employment  of  means  to  supply  the  capital  with 
the  grain  and  flour  of  which  it  has  need.  The  presi- 
dent went  to  the  king  with  the  deputation  at  about 
five  o'clock,  and,  the  session  continuing,  the  Bishop 

15  of  Langres,  one  of  the  ex-presidents,  replaced  him 

The  citizens  and  the  citizenesses  of  Paris,  awaiting 
at  the  bar  the  reply  of  the  king  as  to  the  scarcity  of 
floqr  experienced  in  Paris,  one  of  the  members  of  the 
deputation   reported,   at   about   eight   o'clock,    the 

20  reply  of  his  majesty  on  this  particular  matter.  It 
is  conceived  in  these  terms : 

"I  am  keenly  affected  by  the  insufficiency  of  the 
provisioning  of  Paris.  I  will  continue  to  second  the 
zeal  and  the  efforts  of  the  municipality  with  all  the 

25  means  and  all  the  resources  which  are  in  my  power, 
and  I  have  given  the  most  positive  orders  for  the 
free  circulation  of  grain  on  all  the  routes  and  the 
transportation  of  that  destined  for  the  use  of  my 
good  city  of  Paris.     Signed,  Louis." 

179 


The  French  Revolution 

In  addition,  the  following  order  was  read  which 
the  king  had  just  signed,  and  that  M.  de  Saint-Priest, 
secretary  of  state,  had  countersigned.  [The  order 
was  addressed  to  military  and  municipal  officers, 

s  instructing  them  to  see  to  it  that  the  supplies  for 
Paris  were  not  interfered  with.] 

The  assembly,  wishing  to  co-operate  as  far  as  it 
is  able  in  the  effort  to  put  an  end  to  the  scarcity 
of  bread  experienced  by  Paris,  after  the  reading  of 

io  the  reply  of  the  king,  decrees  as  follows :  [A  decree 
concerning  food  supply]. 

Finally,  in  order  not  to  neglect  any  of  the  means 
fit  to  quiet  the  popular  agitation  caused  by  the 
scarcity  of  bread  in  Paris,  the  assembly  presented 

15  through  its  secretaries  to  the  citizens  and  citizenesses 
of  the  capital,  who  were  at  the  bar,  collated  copies 
of  its  decrees  concerning  the  bread  supply  of  August 
29th  and  of  September  18th,  that  of  the  reply  of  the 
king  and  of  the  orders  sent  out  by  his  majesty  in 

20  the  evening  of  that  day,  and  finally  the  new  decree 
relative  to  the  supply  of  bread  which  had  just  been 
passed. 

The  session  having  been  prolonged  from  nine 
o'clock  until  half  past  nine  in  the  evening,  the  vice- 

*5  president  adjourned  it,  after  having  set  the  hour  for 
to-morrow  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
majority  of  the  deputies  had  left  the  hall,  after  the 
adjournment  by  the  vice-president,  when  the  presi- 
dent returned  from  the  chateau  and  the  crisis  in 

180 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

which  they  found  themselves  determined  him  to 
continue  the  session.  He  read  the  reply  of  the  king, 
who,  upon  the  representations  of  the  assembly,  ac- 
cepted purely  and  simply  the  declaration  of  rights 
s  as  well  as  the  nineteen  articles  of  the  constitution. 
The  reply  of  his  majesty  was  thus  conceived: 

"I  accept  purely  and  simply  the  articles  of  con- 
stitution and  the  declaration  of  the  rights  of  man 
which  the  national  assembly  has  presented  to  me." 

xo  A  numerous  detachment  of  the  national  guard  of 
Paris  having  arrived  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
the  king  called  into  his  presence  the  president  who 
had  just  left  his  majesty.  The  king  likewise  called 
to  him  those  of  the  deputies  who  were  in  the  hall. 

is  The  president  went  to  his  majesty  with  a  very  great 
number  of  members.  The  king  said:  "I  have  called 
you  because  I  wished  to  surround  myself  with  the 
representatives  of  the  nation,  and  to  enlighten  my- 
self with  their  advice  in  these  difficult  circumstances, 

20  but  M.  de  Lafayette  arrived  before  you,  and  I  have 
already  seen  him.  Assure  the  national  assembly  that 
I  have  never  thought  of  separating  from  it,  that  I 
never  will  separate  from  it." 

The  agitation  in  Paris  and  the  great  number  of 

as  inhabitants  of  the  capital  who  went  to  Versailles 

influenced  the  president  at  one  o'clock  to  call  the 

deputies  together  by  the  beating  of  drums.     The 

assembly  was  well  attended  at  half  past  one.  .  .  . 

13  181 


The  French   Revolution 

The  president  adjourned  the  session  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  after  having  set  the  hour  of  meeting 
for  eleven  o'clock  of  that  day. 
2.  Saint-Priest,  Abrege,  in  Campan,  II,  297-304. 
5  The  fifth  of  October,  at  about  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  one  of  my  valets  came  from  Paris  to 
warn  me  that  the  national  guard  of  Paris,  paid  and 
unpaid,  followed  by  a  numerous  populace  of  men 
and  women,  had  set  out  for  Versailles.  The  king 
10  was  hunting  on  the  heights  of  Meudon,  and  I  wrote 
to  him  to  inform  him  of  it.  His  majesty  returned 
quite  promptly  and  called  a  council  of  state  for  half 
past  three.  This  council  was  then  composed  of 
eight  ministers,  the  Marshal  of  Beauveau,  the  arch- 
is  bishops  of  Vienne  and  of  Bordeaux,  guard  of  the 
seals,  Necker,  minister  of  finance,  and  the  comtes 
de  Montmorin,  de  La  Luzerne,  de  La  Tour-du-Pin, 
and  de  Saint-Priest,  secretaries  of  state.  I  gave  an 
account  to  the  council  of  the  information  I  had  re- 
20  ceived,  and  which  had  been  confirmed  since  by  many 
other  reports.  I  described  the  danger  there  would 
be  in  awaiting  this  multitude  in  Versailles,  and  I 
proposed  a  plan  to  be  executed  in  these  circumstances. 
[The  plan  was  to  guard  the  bridges  over  the  Seine 
as  and  check  the  advance  of  the  Parisians.  If  this  were 
not  successful  the  king  could  fall  back  on  Versailles 
and  retreat  to  Rambouillet.]  My  plan  was  approved 
by  the  Marshal  of  Beauveau,  MM.  de  La  Luzerne 
and  La  Tour-du-Pin,  and  vigorously  combated  by 

182 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5  and  6,  1789 

M.  Necker,  seconded  by  the  Comte  de  Montmorin, 
the  archbishops  of  Vienne  and  Bordeaux.  M. 
Necker  maintained  there  was  no  danger  in  allowing 
this  multitude  to  arrive  at  Versailles,  where  it  prob- 

5  ably  came  only  to  present  a  petition  to  the  king; 
that  at  the  worst,  should  his  majesty  judge  it  neces- 
sary to  establish  himself  at  Paris,  he  would  be  vener- 
ated and  respected  there  by  his  people  who  adored 
him.     I  replied  by  opposing  to  that  both  the  form 

10  and  the  substance  of  my  plan,  which  contradicted 
all  these  pretended  inclinations  of  the  people  of 
Paris.  The  king  did  not  explain  himself  upon  the 
course  he  would  follow.  He  ended  the  council,  and 
we  knew  he  had  gone  to  consult  the  queen.     She 

is  declared  to  him  that  she  would  not  for  any  motive 
separate  herself  from  him  and  from  her  children. 
This  would  render  impossible  the  plan  I  suggested. 
.  .  .  Toward  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  a  sort  of 
Parisian  advance  guard,  composed   of   men   badly 

20  clothed  and  women  of  the  populace,  arrived  at  the 
grating  of  the  court  of  ministers,  where  they  were 
refused  entrance.  These  people  then  asked  that 
some  women  be  permitted  to  go  to  present  a  request 
to  the  king.     His  majesty  ordered  that  six  of  them 

as  be  allowed  to  enter,  and  told  me  to  go  and  give  them 
a  hearing  in  the  Oeil-de-Boeuf.  I  went  there.  One 
of  the  women,  who,  as  I  have  since  learned,  was  a 
woman  of  the  street,  acting  as  spokesman  repre- 
sented to  me  that  there  was  a  scarcity  of  bread  in 

183 


The  French  Revolution 

Paris,  and  that  the  people  came  to  ask  some  of  his 
majesty.  I  replied  that  the  king  had  taken  all  the 
steps  he  could  to  make  good  the  deficiency  of  the  last 
crop;  I  added  that  calamities  of  this  nature  ought 
s  to  be  supported  with  patience  as  one  supports  the 
drought  when  the  rain  fails.  I  dismissed  these 
women,  telling  them  to  return  to  Paris  and  assure 
their  fellow  citizens  of  the  love  of  the  king  for  the 
people  of  the  capital.     [That  night  the  king  called 

io  a  council.  Hardly  were  the  members  seated  when 
Saint-Priest  received  a  letter  from  Lafayette,  written 
from  Auteuil,  saying  he  was  coming,  that  there  would 
be  no  disorder,  and  he  would  be  responsible  for  every- 
thing.]   After  having  read  M.  de  Lafayette's  letter 

is  to  the  council  I  presented  again  my  suggestion  made 
after  dinner,  observing,  however,  that  there  was  no 
longer  time  to  return  to  the  measures  proposed 
then;  but  that  it  was  urgently  necessary  for  the 
king  with  his  family  and  his  regular  troops  to  set 

20  out  for  Rambouillet.  The  controversy  between  M. 
Necker  and  myself  became  more  lively  than  on  the 
first  occasion.  I  described  the  risks  the  king  and 
his  family  were  going  to  run,  if  they  hesitated  to 
leave.     I  dwelt  upon  the  resources  they  would  have 

as  if  they  quit  Versailles  for  Rambouillet,  and  I  ended 
by  saying  to  the  king:  "Sire,  if  you  are  taken  to 
Paris  to-morrow,  your  crown  is  lost."  The  king  was 
affected  and  went  to  speak  to  the  queen,  who,  this 
time,  consented  to  go.     M.  Necker  says  in  one  of 

184 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

his  works:  "He  alone  had  to  decide  what  course  to 
follow,  and  he  resolved  to  remain.  In  a  great  num- 
ber of  persons,  just  one,  so  far  as  I  can  remember, 
voted  for  going  without  any  modification. "     It  is 

s  probably  to  myself  that  M.  Necker  attributes  this 
isolated  opinion,  but  his  memory  serves  him  badly, 
for  it  is  a  fact  that  MM.  de  Beauveau,  de  La  Luzerne, 
and  de  La  Tour-du-Pin  were  constantly  of  the  same 
opinion  as  myself. 

10  M.  Necker  passes  over  in  silence  the  order  which 
the  king  on  entering  the  council  gave  me  to  make 
ready  the  carriages,  which  terminated  the  session.  I 
told  his  majesty  that  I  was  going  to  execute  his 
orders,  to  have  my  wife  and  children  start  for  Ram- 

is  bouillet,  and  I  was  going  there  myself  in  order  to 
be  there  at  his  arrival.  I  ordered  M.  le  chevalier 
de  Cubieres,  equerry,  to  take  to  the  stables  the 
order  to  prepare  the  carriages  and  went  home  to 
make    my    personal    arrangements.     After    having 

30  agreed  with  Madame  de  Saint-Priest  about  her  de- 
parture, I  mounted  a  horse,  enveloped  myself  in  a 
mantle  in  order  not  to  be  recognized,  in  which  I  was 
successful.  I  had  gone  hardly  a  half-league  before 
the  carriage  of  my  wife  overtook  me.     She  informed 

25  me  that  M.  de  Montmorin  had  sent  word  to  her 
that  the  king  was  not  going  to  leave. 
3.  Necker,  De  la  revolution,  II,  71-74,  84. 

The  king  was  hunting  [October  5  th].     He  was  in- 
formed immediately  of  the  news  which  had  been 

185 


The  French   Revolution 

received,  and  on  his  return  to  Versailles  he  had  to 
decide  what  course  to  follow  in  a  difficult  situation. 
His  personal  sentiment  did  not  incline  him  to  take 
to  flight,  and  if  in  the  early  days  there  had  been  an 

s  intention  to  conceal  this  fact,  the  officers  in  service 
about  the  king  should  have  been  forbidden  to  say 
and  to  repeat  that  they  had  heard  him,  walking  with 
long  strides  in  his  room,  repeat  several  times,  with 
a  sentiment  of  repugnance  and  indignation:    "A 

io  fugitive  king!    A  fugitive  king!" 

He  decided,  however,  to  order  his  carriages,  but 
the  traces  having  been  cut  or  detached  by  the  people 
of  Versailles,  who  wished,  it  was  said,  at  any  risk  to 
prevent  the  departure  of  the  court,  there  were  new 

is  doubts  and  a  second  deliberation.  The  excitement 
was  general  within  the  chateau,  and  the  queen,  within 
a  period  of  a  few  hours,  held  two  absolutely  different 
opinions.  The  monarch,  surrounded,  environed  by 
his  guards,  would  have  conquered,  I  believe,  the  re- 

20  sistance  of  the  people,  but  the  excellent  goodness  of 
the  prince  made  him  hesitate  to  be  the  occasion  and 
the  witness  of  a  tumult  where  the  shedding  of  blood 
would  have  been,  perhaps,  inevitable.  Yet  at  the 
moment  and  in  a  situation  where  the  person  even 

as  of  the  king  might  be  exposed,  it  is  evident  that  he 
alone  ought  to  decide  the  matter,  and  he  resolved 
to  remain  at  Versailles.  The  political  question  was 
the  only  one  that  his  ministers  and  other  persons 
with  whom  he  took  council  were  called  upon  to  treat, 

186 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

and  this  question  was  then  second  in  order.  I  heard 
only  the  opinions  given  in  the  king's  study,  so  I  did 
not  know  the  opinion  of  the  princes,  but  in  a  great 
number  of  persons,  just  one,  so  far  as  I  can  remem- 

s  ber,  voted  for  the  king  to  go  without  any  modifica- 
tion. .  .  .  The  morning  of  October  6th  the  king  did 
not  hesitate  to  promise  to  go  to  establish  himself 
in  Paris.  He  set  out  surrounded  by  the  national 
guards  and  followed,  preceded  by  an  immense  throng 

10  of  people.  His  soul  was  sorrowful  at  the  thought 
of  the  fate  of  many  of  his  faithful  guards,  who  had 
just  perished  by  the  assassin's  hand;  and  his  eyes 
could  distinguish  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd  monsters 
in  human  form,  who  bore  as  a  trophy  the  frightful 

is  signs  of  their  sanguinary  ferocity.     What  a  journey ! 

What  an  inauguration  of  the  future! 

4.  Lafayette,  Marquis   de,  Mtmoires,  II,  337-343. 

Between  four  and  five  o'clock  word  was  received 

that  they  [the  first  troop  of  women]  were  to  be  followed 

20  by  several  thousand  men  and  women  armed  with  guns, 
pikes,  and  two  or  three  cannon.  Then  Lafayette, 
after  having  received  from  the  city  government  an 
order  and  two  commissioners,  quickly  provided  for 
the  protection  of  Paris,  and  at  the  head  of  several 

25  battalions  took  the  road  to  Versailles.  Such  was  the 
general  sentiment  of  indignation  which  animated 
Paris  and  the  national  guard  against  the  first  in- 
stigators of  these  disorders,  that  when  he  had  given 
the  order  to  march,  he  was  covered  with  applause 

187 


The  French  Revolution 

along  the  way  and  notably  by  the  crowd  of  well- 
dressed  people  who  lined  the  terrace  of  the  Tuileries. 
.  .  .  Lafayette,  before  reaching  Versailles,  halted  the 
column  for  a  few  minutes  at  the  bridge  of  Sevres ;  but 
s  this  Rubicon  once  passed,  he  ordered  his  troops  to 
drive  back  any  who  opposed  them.  There  was  no 
need  of  it.  The  regiment  of  Flanders,  minus  its 
officers,  sent  to  ask  for  orders,  and  were  instructed 
to  remain  in  their  barracks.     He  [Lafayette]  sent 

io  the  commandant  of  the  city  artillery  and  a  general 
officer  to  announce  to  the  chateau  his  intentions  and 
the  orders  of  the  magistrates  of  Paris.  The  king 
sent  word  to  him  by  another  officer,  sent  in  advance, 
that  "he  saw  him  approach  with  pleasure  and  that 

is  he  had  just  accepted  his  declaration  of  rights."  Two 
patrols  of  the  body  guard,  after  the  first,  "Who 
goes  there?"  fell  back  on  the  chateau.  Nobody  ap- 
peared, and  if  a  few  shots,  to  which  there  was  no 
reply,  were  fired  on  the  arrival  of  the  advance  guard, 

20  it  was  evidently  with  the  intention  of  engaging  an 
unequal  contest  which  might  have  become  bloody. 
Near  the  meeting  place  of  the  assembly,  Lafayette 
again  halted  his  troops,  spoke  to  them,  and  had  them 
renew  the  civic  oath  to  the  nation,  the  law,  and  the 

as  king.  Before  again  giving  the  order  to  advance, 
he  wished  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  president  and 
to  receive  the  orders  of  the  king.  He  presented  him- 
self alone  with  the  two  commissioners  of  the  com- 
mune at  the  closed  and  locked  grating  of  the  court 

188 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

of  the  chateau,  full  of  Swiss  guards.  They  refused 
to  open  the  gate,  and  when  Lafayette  had  announced 
his  intention  to  enter  solely  with  his  two  companions, 
the  captain  who  parleyed  with  him  expressed  his 
s  astonishment,  to  which  he  replied  in  a  loud  voice : 
"Yes,  sir,  it  would  always  be  with  a  feeling  of  con- 
fidence that  I  would  find  myself  in  the  midst  of  the 
brave  regiment  of  Swiss  guards.' '  The  gate  was 
finally  opened.  The  apartments  were  full  of  people. 
10  When  Lafayette  crossed  the  CEil  de  Bceuf ,  a  man 
cried  out :  "  There  is  Cromwell !"  M  Sir, ' '  replied  La- 
fayette, "Cromwell  would  not  have  entered  alone." 
It  was  considered  that,  in  view  of  the  circumstances, 
he  talked  well  to  the  king,  who  received  him  in  pub- 
is lie  and  confided  to  him  the  old  posts  of  the  French 
guards.  At  daybreak  he  went  to  call  upon  M. 
Montmorin,  within  reach  of  his  grenadiers,  then  very 
close  to  the  chateau,  to  the  h6tel  de  Noailles,  his 
headquarters,  when  the  alarm  was  given  by  his 
20  sentinels  and  by  the  officer  on  duty.  The  irruption 
of  the  brigands,  which  had  taken  place  suddenly, 
was  soon  checked  by  a  company  of  grenadiers  under 
the  orders  of  Cadigan  and  by  another  volunteer 
company  having  at  its  head  Captain  Gondran.  .  .  . 
25  While  Lafayette  sent  rapidly  these  first  succors,  he 
was  able,  by  going  quickly  to  the  king,  to  save  a 
group  of  body  guards.  He  found  the  apartments 
occupied  by  the  national  guards,  praised  their  fine 
conduct,  and  confided  anew  the  royal  family  and  its 

189 


The  French  Revolution 

guards  to  their  loyalty.  He  harangued  with  warmth 
and  even  with  violence  from  the  balcony  the  multi- 
tude which  filled  the  court  of  marble,  and  when  the 
king  and  his  family,  after  having  promised  to  go  to 

s  Paris,  had  retired  from  this  balcony,  he  said  to  the 
queen:  "Madam,  what  is  your  personal  intention ?" 
"I  know  the  fate  which  awaits  me,"  she  replied,  with 
magnanimity,  "but  my  duty  is  to  die  at  the  feet  of 
the  king  and  in  the  arms  of  my  children.'*     "Very 

io  well,  Madam,  come  with  me."  "What!  Alone 
on  the  balcony?  Have  you  not  seen  the  signs 
they  made  at  me?"  In  fact,  they  were  terrible. 
"Yes,  Madam,  let  us  go  there."  And  in  appearing 
with  her,  in  face  of  those  waves  which  roared  still 

is  in  the  midst  of  a  fringe  of  national  guards  which 
bordered  three  sides  of  the  court,  but  could  not  re- 
press the  center  of  it,  Lafayette,  not  being  able  to 
make  himself  heard,  had  recourse  to  a  hazardous 
but  decisive  sign;  he  kissed  the  hand  of  the  queen. 

20  The  multitude,  struck  by  this  act,  cried:  "Long 
live  the  general !  Long  live  the  queen!"  The  king, 
who  stood  a  few  paces  behind,  advanced  upon  the 
balcony  and  said,  in  an  affected  and  grateful  tone: 
"Now,  what  can  you  do  for  my  guards?"     "Bring 

25  me  one  of  them,"  replied  Lafayette.  Then  giving 
his  cockade  to  the  guard,  he  embraced  him,  and  the 
people  cried:  "Long  live  the  body  guards!"  From 
this  moment  the  peace  was  made.  The  national 
guards  and  the  body  guards  marched  to  Paris  arm 

190 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

in  arm.  ...  He  [Lafayette]  took  care  to  engage  the 
people  to  march  ahead,  to  have  them  followed  by 
several  battalions,  and  to  retain  only  the  escort 
necessary  for  the  security  of  the  royal  family.     In 

s  spite  of  these  precautions,  they  got  on  slowly.  The 
place  of  Lafayette  was  by  the  side  of  the  carriage 
of  the  king,  which  he  accompanied  on  horseback. 
He  could  not  go  to  all  the  different  points  to  prevent 
embarrassment  and  oppose  frequent  halts.     They 

10  reached  the  city  hall  through  an  immense  crowd. 
It  was  night,  and  there  was  reason  to  fear  that  the 
fermentation  had  not  yet  subsided.  But  the  royal 
family  was  received  by  the  representative  of  the  com- 
mune with  all  the  marks  of  respect  that  one  might 

is  expect  from  these  excellent  citizens.  It  is  known 
that  Bailly,  charged  by  the  king  to  express  a  few 
words  of  attachment  for  the  city,  forgot  the  word 
confidence.  The  queen  called  his  attention  to  it, 
and  Bailly,  gracefully  seizing  the  opportunity  to  put 

20  her  in  a  favorable  light,  said :  ' '  Gentlemen,  in  hearing 
it  from  the  mouth  of  the  queen  you  are  more  for- 
tunate than  if  I  had  not  made  the  mistake."  La- 
fayette led  the  cortege  to  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries, 
which  became  the  residence  of  the  royal  family 

as  until  August,  1792. 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Premier e  partie,  No.  XXX, 

58- 
a.  Jean-Louis  Brousse  des  Faucherets,  forty-three 
years  old,  advocate  of  parliament,  lieutenant  of  the 

191 


The  French  Revolution 

mayor  in  the  department  of  public  buildings,  dwell- 
ing in  Paris,  Rue  de  Paradis,  in  the  Marais,  deposes 
that  Monday,  October  5th  last,  at  half  past  nine  or 
thereabout  in  the  morning,  going  to  the  city  hall 

s  to  perform  his  functions  as  secretary  of  the  com- 
mune, he  saw  the  Place  de  Greve  filled  by  an  enor- 
mous crowd  of  people,  who,  after  having  lowered  the 
lantern,  cried  that  they  needed  bread  and  demanded 
the  punishment  of  the  authors  of  the  famine  they 

10  were  suffering.  Having  gone  a  few  steps,  he  en- 
countered the  troops  who  were  on  duty  to  defend 
the  square  retiring  in  confusion,  having  the  butts 
of  their  muskets  in  the  air.  Among  the  troops  he 
recognized  soldiers  of  the  central  troop  of  his  dis- 

15  trict,  of  whom  he  demanded  the  reason  of  their  de- 
parture. These  soldiers  replied  that  they  were  sent 
away,  and  when  he  asked  them  who  had  done  it, 
they  added,  while  still  retreating,  that  it  was  the 
people.     [Finding  it  impossible  to  get  into  the  city 

20  hall,  Brousse  returned  to  his  district  and  remained 
there  until  one  o'clock.]  Then  he  went  to  the  city 
hall.  He  found  the  large  hall,  where  the  general 
assemblies  are  usually  held,  entirely  vacant.  They 
told   him   that   the  few  representatives  who  were 

25  then  in  the  city  hall  were  assembled  in  the  room 
where  the  police  committee  usually  meets.  He 
went  there.  On  reaching  the  antechamber  he  found 
the  door  crowded  with  four  or  five  grenadiers  of  the 
French  guards,  one  of  whom  was  .speaking,  but  he 

192 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

could  not  hear  what  he  said.  When  he  came  near 
one  of  them,  he  heard  silence  imposed  upon  the  sol- 
dier near  him,  who  was  trying  to  speak.  They  said 
to  him:  "Let  him  speak;  he  speaks  well."     Then  he 

s  saw  M.  de  Lafayette  come  out  and  try  to  appease 
these  soldiers,  who  said  to  him  all  together:  "It  is 
useless  to  convince  us,  for  all  our  comrades  think  the 
same  way,  and  even  if  you  convinced  us  you  would 
not  change  them."     M.  de  Lafayette  followed  them 

10  into  the  square,  and  he  went  with  him.  .  .  .  He  saw 
the  useless  efforts  made  by  the  commanding  general 
to  appease  the  cries  and  impetuosity  of  the  soldiers 
united  with  the  people.  There  was  but  one  cry: 
"Let  us  go  to  Versailles!"     Seeing  that  he  could  do 

is  no  good,  and  as  his  duty  called  him  elsewhere,  he  re- 
entered the  city  hall,  where  he  encountered  a  repre- 
sentative whose  name  he  cannot  recall,  who  told  him 
that  the  grenadiers,  who  talked  at  the  moment  he 
presented  himself  at  the  door  of  the  room  of  the 

20  police  committee,  had  said  to  M.  de  Lafayette: 
"General,  the  people  lack  bread;  the  committee  on 
food  either  deceive  you  or  they  are  themselves  de- 
ceived. We  are  in  a  position  which  cannot  last. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  put  an  end  to  it.     Let  us 

as  go  to  Versailles.  They  say  the  king  is  an  imbecile; 
we  will  place  the  crown  on  the  head  of  his  son;  a 
council  of  regency  will  be  named,  and  France  will 
be  better  governed."  The  person  who  told  him  this 
said  that  this  soldier  had  a  very  fine  face  and  a 

193 


The  French  Revolution 

choice  of  language  which  surprised  everybody  who 
heard  him,  and  a  coolness  which  astonished  still 
more.  [Brousse  left  the  city  hall  at  half  past  three.] 
He  returned  an  hour  later  to  the  city  hall  and  learned 
s  that  M.  de  Lafayette  had  been  compelled  by  the  ab- 
solute violence  of  his  troops  to  march  at  their  head 
to  Versailles,  after  having  obtained  an  order  of  the 
commune  which  enjoined  him  to  do  so.     [December 

23,  1789-] 
10  5 .  Procedure  criminelle,  Premidre partie,  No.  XXXVIII, 

7i. 

b.  Jean-Baptiste  Lourdet  de  Santerre,  fifty-seven 
years  of  age,  counselor  of  the  king  in  his  councils, 
master  in   ordinary   in  his   chamber   of   accounts, 

15  dwelling  in  Paris,  Rue  Chapon,  parish  Saint-Nicolas- 
des-Champs,  deposes  that  the  fifth  of  October  last, 
he  betook  himself  to  the  city  hall  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  in  his  character  as  deputy,  to  relieve 
the  commissioners  who  had  passed  the  night  there, 

20  and  who  were  in  the  room  used  for  the  delivery  of 
passports.  Being  installed  in  their  place  with  five 
of  his  colleagues,  they  had  scarcely  begun  to  occupy 
themselves  with  their  affairs  when  a  baker  was 
brought  in  who  was  accused  of  selling  bread  under 

25  weight.  This  affair  concerned  the  police  com- 
mission; but  as  it  was  not  yet  assembled,  he  and  his 
colleagues  decided  to  send  the  delinquent  to  a  com- 
missioner at  the  Chatelet.  But  on  the  statement 
made  to  them  by  the  national  guard,   who  had 

194 


The   Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

brought  him  in,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  save 
him  from  the  fury  of  the  people  assembled  in  the 
Place  de  Greve,  he  and  his  colleagues  sent  him  with 
the  guard  who  had  arrested  him  to  wait  the  com- 

s  missioners  in  the  room  of  the  police  commission. 
At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  this  same  day  he 
heard  in  the  court  confused  cries.  He  ran  to  the 
window  and  saw  many  women,  who  appeared  to 
be  disputing  among  themselves,   whose  words  he 

10  could  not  hear.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  city 
hall  was  filled  with  a  very  great  number  of  women, 
who  ran  through  all  the  rooms  of  the  city  hall.  A 
group  of  them  entered  the  room  where  he  was  and 
withdrew,  saying  they  had  no  desire  to  harm  any- 

is  body.  Four  of  the  deputies  had  been  obliged  to 
leave  on  account  of  business  of  various  kinds,  and 
he  remained  alone  with  one  of  his  colleagues.  A  few 
moments  afterward  redoubled  blows,  which  he  heard 
rained  upon  a  door,  made  him  think  they  were  trying 

20  to  force  the  city  hall,  and,  in  fact,  they  did  so,  and 
all  the  city  hall  was  rilled  with  brigands  armed  with 
axes,  muskets,  sabers,  and  pikes,  who  joined  the 
women  in  forcing  all  the  rooms  of  the  city  hall.  In 
the  midst  of  the  inhuman  cries  of  this  wild  troop 

25  he  still  continued  his  work  with  his  colleague. 
Finally  prudence  forced  him  to  withdraw.  .  .  . 
Toward  half  past  twelve  or  one  o'clock  he  learned 
in  his  district,  where  he  had  gone,  that  the  national 
guard  had  gained  control  of  the  Place  de  Gr&ve  and 

i95 


The  French  Revolution 

the  city  hall.  He  went  to  the  assembly  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  commune  and  remained  there  until 
three  o'clock  to  deliberate  on  the  different  courses 
that  might  be  followed  in  this  moment  of  efferves- 

s  cence  of  the  inhabitants  of  Paris,  and  especially 
of  the  immense  throng  of  people  which  inundated 
the  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  hall.  He  left 
at  four  o'clock  to  go  to  dinner.  Upon  his  return  at 
five  he  found  the  commanding  general  and  mayor 

io  surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  deputies  and  by  a 
score  of  grenadiers,  former  French  guards,  who  cried 
with  vehemence:  "General,  to  Versailles!  Hang 
it!  You  will  not  abandon  us!"  The  commanding 
general  employed  his  affability  and  eloquence  to 

is  calm  the  frenzy  of  these  excited  individuals,  who 
constantly  repeated:  "To  Versailles!  To  Ver- 
sailles !"  Finally  he  was  forced  to  go  out  with  them, 
still  haranguing  them  with  admirable  calmness.  He 
[Lourdet]  then  followed  the  mayor  and  the  deputies 

ao  to  the  assembly  of  the  commune  to  take  such  action 
as  the  critical  circumstances  demanded.  A  little 
later  some  one  came  to  announce  that  the  general 
had  departed  for  Versailles  with  a  great  number  of 
national  troops,  and  that  all  the  armed  brigands 

2s  who  had  forced  the  city  hall  in  the  morning  had  also 
departed  for  Versailles  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  with  an  innumerable  throng  of  women. 
[December  29,  1789.] 

196 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Suite  de  la,  No.  CLXXXV,  26. 
c.  Gerard-Henri  de  Blois,  forty-two  years  old,  advo- 
cate of  parliament,  dwelling  in  Paris,  Rue  du  Battoir, 
parish  Saint-C6me,  deposes  that  as  representative 

s  of  the  commune  he  went  to  the  city  hall  for  the 
night  service,  the  night  of  Sunday,  the  fourth,  to 
Monday,  the  fifth,  of  October  last.  Toward  seven 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Monday  he  was  alone  in 
the  police  room.     The  first  indication  of  a  riot  was 

10  the  arrest  of  a  baker,  near  Saint-Eustache,  charged 
with  having  sold  a  two-pound  loaf  of  bread  seven 
ounces  under  weight.  A  detachment  of  the  national 
guard  brought  him  in.  M.  de  Gouvion,  major  gen- 
eral, came  to  inform  him  of  the  matter,  saying  that 

is  the  people  who  were  in  the  square  demanded  that 
the  baker  be  strung  up  to  the  lantern.  After  he  had 
questioned  the  baker,  who  acknowledged  his  guilt, 
he  said  to  M.  de  Gouvion,  who  feared  that  the  people 
would  come  and  seize  the  baker,  that  they  ought, 

20  both  of  them,  to  do  all  they  could  to  prevent  this 
assassination.  The  baker,  whom  he  had  concealed, 
had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  before  the  city  hall 
was  surrounded,  a  movement  which  commenced  a 
few  minutes  later.     About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 

25  ing,  informed  by  M.  de  Gouvion  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention to  lay  siege  to  the  city  hall,  he  saw,  in  fact, 
the  first  group  of  women  enter  the  court  of  the  city 
hall.  They  were  for  the  most  part  young,  dressed 
in  white,  their  hair  dressed  and  faces  powdered, 
H  197 


The  French  Revolution 

having  a  merry  air  and  showing  no  bad  intentions. 
They  entered  the  different  halls,  and  notably  that 
where  the  police  committee  met,  and  another  near  by 
where  passports  are  distributed.  He  talked  with 
s  them.  They  were  very  polite,  and  he  replied  to  all 
their  questions  which  had  no  other  object  than  to 
know  the  use  of  the  halls.  .  .  .  The  number  of  women 
increased  considerably  until  eleven  in  the  morning. 
He  saw  one  group  mount  the  staircase  which  led 

io  to  the  belfry  and  ring  the  bell.  Another  laughed, 
sang,  and  danced  in  the  court,  asking  from  time  to 
time:  "Where  is  M.  Bailly?  Where  is  M.  de 
Lafayette?"  He  also  saw  women  force  the  con- 
cierge of  the  jail  to  set  the  prisoners  at  liberty.  .  .  . 

15  Having  examined  the  dress,  the  figures,  and  the  faces 
of  these  women,  he  saw  very  few  who  would  be 
classed  with  the  vile  populace.  Having  expressed 
his  astonishment  to  some  persons  that  only  women 
entered  the  city  hall,  while  the  Place  de  Greve  was 

20  full  of  men  and  nobody  prevented  them  from  enter- 
ing, the  reply  was  that  the  women  had  forbidden 
them  to  enter.  About  half  past  eleven  he  heard  a 
great  uproar  on  the  side  of  the  Saint- Jean  arcade. 
Going  to  this  side,  he  saw  a  considerable  number  of 

25  men  force  the  doors  which  are  under  this  arcade, 
with  logs,  hammers,  and  other  instruments.  Soon 
the  doors  were  broken  in  and  a  very  numerous  popu- 
lace spread  in  every  direction  through  the  city  hall, 
without  at  this  time,  however,  entering  by  the  grand 

198 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

staircase.  At  the  sight  of  all  these  people,  not 
doubting  that  they  had  evil  intentions,  he  left  the 
city  hall,  because  there  were  few  representatives  of 
the  commune  there  and  as  the  heads  of  the  munic- 

s  ipality  were  not  present.  Toward  two  o'clock  he 
returned  with  M.  de  Vauvilliers,  whom  he  met  in 
the  Cordeliers  district.  Both  of  them  went  to  the 
room  of  the  police  committee.  There  he  saw  M. 
de  Lafayette  surrounded  by  two  grenadiers,  former 

10  French  guards.  One,  with  a  very  excited  air,  was 
saying  to  M.  de  Lafayette:  " General,  they  are  de- 
ceiving you."  When  he  asked  him  to  name  the  per- 
sons who  were  abusing  his  confidence,  he  [the  grena- 
dier] replied:   "We  will  name  them  for  you,  but  we 

is  must  go  to  Versailles."  At  this  remark  M.  de 
Lafayette  walked  off,  still  accompanied  by  the  two 
grenadiers.  Then  he  could  hear  only  very  imper- 
fectly what  was  said,  but  shortly  afterward  some  one, 
whose  name  he  does  not  recall,  said  to  him:   "The 

20  grenadiers  are  forcing  M.  de  Lafayette  to  go  to 
Versailles;  he  is  opposed  to  it,  saying  that  the  king 
might  leave  his  usual  residence;  one  of  the  grena- 
diers replied:  'If  the  king  leaves  Versailles  we  will 
put  his  son  on  the  throne.' "     This  same  remark  was 

25  heard,  no  doubt,  by  other  persons,  as  he  heard  it 
repeated  in  the  hall  of  the  commune  by  M.  Brousse 
de  Faucherets,  among  other  people.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  the  commune  being  then  assembled 
in  the  great  hall,  he  saw  several  of  the  aides  of  M. 

199 


The  French  Revolution 

de  Lafayette  arrive,  one  after  the  other,  announcing 
that  his  life  was  in  danger,  that  they  threatened  him 
with  the  lantern,  that  on  all  sides  were  heard  the 
cries:    "To  Versailles!    To  Versailles!"     Then  the 

s  assembly  thought  it  ought  to  yield  to  force  and  give 
the  order  to  the  general  to  set  out  for  Versailles. 
[December  24,  1789.] 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Premidre  partie.  No.  LXXXI, 
117. 

10  d.  Stanislas-Marie  Maillard,  twenty-six  years  old, 
captain  of  the  volunteers  of  the  Bastile,  living  in 
Paris,  Rue  de  Bethizi,  parish  Saint-Germain-l'Aux- 
errois,  deposes  that  Monday,  the  fifth  of  last  October, 
at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  went  to  the  city 

is  hall  to  make  a  claim  upon  the  commune  in  the  name 
of  the  volunteers;  but  the  commune  not  being  as- 
sembled, the  halls  were,  on  the  contrary,  filled  with 
women  who  tried  to  break  in,  and  who  broke  in  the 
doors  of  the  city  hall,  which  led  him  to  descend  into 

20  the  guard  room  for  the  purpose  of  asking  orders  of 
M.  de  Gouvion  [Lafayette's  aide]  in  order  to  remedy 
and  prevent  the  damage  these  women  might  com- 
mit. M.  de  Gouvion  begged  him  earnestly  not  to 
leave  him  and  to  aid  in  quieting  the  people.     [An 

as  uprising  is  reported  in  the  Saint- Ant oine  section. 
After  restoring  order  there,  Maillard  returns  to  the 
city  hall.]  At  this  time  he  was  not  able  to  enter 
the  city  hall.  It  was  occupied  by  a  crowd  of  women 
who  would  have  no  men  among  them,  and  who 

200 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

repeated  without  ceasing  that  the  city  government 
was  composed  of  aristocrats.  He  was  taken  for  a 
member  of  the  government  because  he  was  dressed 
in  black,   and   they   refused   him   entrance,  which 

s  obliged  him  to  change  his  clothes.  But  in  descend- 
ing the  steps  of  the  city  hall  he  was  stopped  by  five 
or  six  women  who  made  him  return,  crying  to  all 
the  others  that  it  was  a  volunteer  of  the  Bastile, 
and  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  feared  from  him; 

10  that  then,  having  penetrated  into  the  midst  of  them, 
he  found  some  of  them  forcing  the  doors  down- 
stairs, others  seizing  the  papers  in  the  halls,  saying 
that  it  [writing]  was  all  that  had  been  done  since  the 
beginning  of  the  revolution,  and  that  they  were  going 

is  to  burn  them.  He,  with  the  aid  of  a  person  named 
Richard  Maillard  Dupin,  invited  them  to  keep  quiet. 
These  women  repeated  that  the  men  did  not  have 
nerve  enough  to  avenge  themselves,  and  that  they 
would  show  themselves  better  than  the  men.     Hav- 

20  ing  gone  for  a  moment  to  the  court,  on  returning  he 
saw  a  crowd  of  men  going  up  the  steps,  armed  with 
pikes,  lances,  forks,  and  other  weapons,  having 
forced  the  women  to  let  them  enter.  These  men 
cast  themselves  upon  the  doors  which  the  women  had 

as  attacked,  and  forced  them  by  means  of  heavy  ham- 
mers they  had  and  crowbars  which  they  found  in  the 
city  hall.  They  took  all  the  arms  they  found  and 
gave  some  of  them  to  the  women.  He  was  told  that 
women  were  coming  with  torches  to  burn  the  papers 

201 


The  French  Revolution 

which  remained  in  the  city  hall.  He  went  out,  threw 
himself  upon  these  women,  to  the  number  of  two, 
who  bore  each  a  lighted  torch  and  were  just  entering 
the  city  hall.  He  took  the  torches  from  them,  which 
s  nearly  cost  him  his  life  because  he  opposed  their 
project.  He  remarked  to  them  that  they  could  send 
a  delegation  to  the  commune  for  the  purpose  of  ask- 
ing justice  and  describing  the  situation  in  which 
they  found  themselves,  as  all  asked  for  bread.     But 

io  they  replied  that  the  whole  commune  was  composed 
of  bad  citizens,  all  of  whom  deserved  to  be  hung  to 
the  lantern,  and  first  of  all  M.  Bailly  and  M.  de 
Lafayette.     [February  27,  1790.] 

[Maillard  consulted  with  M.  Derminy,  adjutant 

is  major  general  of  the  militia,  with  headquarters  at 
the  city  hall,  as  to  what  should  be  done.  The  women 
were  planning  to  go  to  Versailles;  Maillard  suggested 
that  he  become  their  leader.]  The  said  M.  Derminy 
replied  he  could  give  no  orders  of  this  nature,  that 

20  it  would  be  contrary  to  the  interest  of  the  citizens, 
that  he  [Maillard]  might  do  everything  which  seemed 
best  to  him,  provided  that  it  did  not  disturb  the 
public  peace.  He  replied  to  the  said  M.  Derminy 
that  it  could  do  no  harm,  and  that  it  was  the  sole 

25  means  of  freeing  the  city  hall  and  the  capital;  that 
by  this  same  means  one  would  succeed  in  getting 
the  districts  under  arms,  that  in  the  time  they  [the 
women]  were  making  four  leagues  the  army  could 
anticipate  the  evil  these  women  proposed  to  do. 

202 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

He  then  got  a  drummer  at  the  door  of  the  city  hall, 
where  the  women  were  gathered  in  very  large  num- 
bers. Detachments  of  them  set  out  into  different 
quarters  to  make  recruits  and  arranged  a  rendezvous 

s  in  the  Square  Louis  XV.  He  saw  several  men  place 
themselves  at  their  head  and  harangue  them  in  a  way 
likely  to  arouse  sedition.  He  believed  it  his  duty 
to  make  known  to  these  women  that  these  men 
would  lead  them  into  trouble.  ...  To  the  first  drum- 

10  mer,  mentioned  above,  two  others  had  been  added, 
and  they  followed  the  street  along  the  quay  of  the 
Orfevres,  of  l'Ecole,  up  to  the  last  gate  of  the  Louvre, 
where,  in  the  midst  of  the  square,  a  lady  with  her 
husband  being  encountered  in  a  carriage,  several  of 

is  these  women  went  to  the  carriage  and  made  the  lady 
descend.  Her  husband  did  not  abandon  her,  and 
begged  him  to  use  his  influence  with  the  women  that 
they  might  go  free,  which  he  was  not  able  to  do  in 
spite  of  all  the  civilities  he  made  use  of.     He  halted 

20  the  women.  He  told  them  that  this  woman  would 
probably  not  refuse  to  go  to  Versailles  with  them, 
but  that  at  least  they  ought  to  permit  her  to  go  in 
her  carriage  with  her  husband.  They  refused  this 
proposition,  and  it  was  only  the  tears  of  the  lady 

as  which  affected  some  of  the  women.  Others  were 
inexorable,  which  caused  a  disturbance  among  them, 
and  they  struck  one  another.  During  this  time  he 
begged  the  women  who  held  this  lady  to  let  her  go, 
and  obtained  her  liberty.     These  women  continued 

203 


The  French  Revolution 

their  route  and  forced  him  to  pass  through  the  gar- 
den of  the  Tuileries.  He  objected  that  it  was  im- 
possible, that  the  Swiss  would  oppose  them,  and  that 
it  would  be  an  insult  to  his  majesty  to  cross  his 

s  gardens  in  this  way,  and  especially  in  such  large 
numbers.  [The  women  gave  Maillard  the  choice 
between  crossing  the  garden  or  abandoning  the 
leadership.  They  crossed,  having  a  melee  with  the 
Swiss].     They  reached  the  Square  Louis  XV.,  as- 

io  signed  by  these  women  as  rendezvous,  but  as  the 
people  had  gathered  in  large  numbers,  this  square 
did  not  seem  a  fitting  place  to  meet  in,  and  they  de- 
cided to  go  to  the  midst  of  the  Champs-Elysees,  the 
Place  d'Armes,  where  he  saw  groups  of  women  ar- 

is  rive  from  all  sides  armed  with  broom  handles,  lances, 
forks,  swords,  pistols,  and  guns,  none  of  them,  how- 
ever, having  any  ammunition,  as  they  wished  to 
force  him  to  go  to  seek  powder  at  the  arsenal  with 
a  detachment  of  them.     [Maillard]  pretended  there 

20  was  no  powder  at  the  arsenal,  although  he  knew 
better;  but  he  believed  it  prudent,  as  they  wished 
to  go  to  the  national  assembly  only  to  ask  justice 
and  bread,  that  they  should  go  there  without  arms, 
and  that  they  would  soften  the  assembly  sooner  in 

as  presenting  themselves  without  arms  than  in  employ- 
ing force.  By  means  of  prayers  and  protestations 
he  succeeded  in  making  the  women  abandon  their 
arms,  except  a  few  who  refused,  but  whom  others, 
more  wise,  forced  to  yield.  . .  .  They  took  the  route  to 

204 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5  and  6,  1789 

Versailles,  having  at  their  head  eight  or  ten  drum- 
mers. These  women  at  that  time  might  have 
amounted  to  six  or  seven  thousand.  They  passed 
through  Chaillot,  along  the  river.     All  the  houses 

s  were  closed,  through  fear  of  pillage,  no  doubt.  These 
women,  in  spite  of  that,  went  to  knock  at  all  the 
doors,  and  when  they  were  refused  entrance  they 
wished  to  break  them  down,  and  made  a  business 
of  taking  away  the  signs.     Seeing  this,  and  wishing 

10  to  prevent  the  ruin  of  the  inhabitants,  he  halted  all 
the  women  and  told  them  that  it  would  not  reflect 
honor  upon  them  to  comport  themselves  in  this  way, 
and  that  he  would  abandon  the  leadership  if  they 
went  on  in  this  way,  and  their  actions  might  be 

is  looked  upon  in  an  unfavorable  light.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  they  went  along  peacefully,  all  the  citizens 
of  the  capital  would  appreciate  it.  They  finally  yield- 
ed to  his  remonstrances  and  advice  and  continued 
their  route  in  an  orderly  manner  to  Sevres.     Mean- 

20  while,  at  intervals  along  the  road,  they  intercepted 
various  couriers  and  carriages  of  the  court  going  to 
Versailles,  because  of  the  fear,  they  said,  that  the 
bridge  of  S&vres  might  be  closed  to  prevent  them 
from  passing  without  doing  any  harm  to  anybody. 

as  Arrived  at  the  Sevres  bridge,  he  halted  them.  [A 
group  of  seven  armed  men,  chosen  from  those  fol- 
lowing the  women,  were  sent  forward  to  S&vres. 
Their  instructions  were]  to  discover  where  the  bakers 
were  and  to  request  them  to  give  and  distribute 

205 


The  French  Revolution 

what  bread  they  might  have  on  hand,  assuring  them 
that  no  harm  or  wrong  would  be  done  them,  the 
women  having  promised  him  this.  After  having 
given  this  order,  he  and  the  women  continued  their 

s  route  without  encountering  any  obstacle  as  far  as 
Sevres,  not  even  a  guard.  Arrived  at  Sevres,  they 
found,  in  fact,  all  the  refreshment  places  and  wine 
shops  closed.  A  messenger  from  those  sent  ahead 
came  to  inform  him  that  all  the  bakers  had  been 

io  visited,  and  that  only  eight  loaves  of  bread  of  four 
pounds  had  been  found;  that  the  bakers  cut  it  up 
into  small  pieces  to  distribute  to  the  women.  .  .  .  He 
was  obliged  to  report  to  the  women  what  he  had  just 
heard,  which  excited  murmurs  among  them  and  made 

is  them  scatter  here  and  there  to  hatch  plots  which 
made  him  fear  for  the  inhabitants  of  Sevres.  [Mail- 
lard  had  the  drums  beaten,  and  made  use  of  the 
well-disposed  women  in  the  effort  to  influence  the 
others.     He  was  not  successful.]     The  women  went 

20  to  all  the  doors  and  shops  of  the  wine  merchants, 
tavern  keepers,  and  other  citizens,  even  entered  the 
courts  and  took  the  benches  and  other  pieces  of 
wood,  and  set  to  work  to  break  down  the  doors  and 
tear  down  the  signs  of  all  the  merchants.     He  had 

as  the  drums  beaten  to  call  together  the  citizens  of 
Sevres,  and  put  in  a  state  of  defense  against  the  evils 
which  threatened  them.  But  instead  of  these  citi- 
zens there  arrived  a  crowd  of  armed  men  whom  he 
believed  at  first  to  be  the  citizens  of  the  place;  on 

206 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

the  contrary,  they  were  men  famished  by  the  loss 
of  the  citizens  of  Sevres,  and  who,  with  their 
wives,  attacked  furiously  all  the  doors  near  them. 
Then  he  followed  the  course  of  having  the  drums 

s  beaten,  assembled  all  the  men  and  women,  and  made 
them  understand  that  they  would  be  taken  for 
bandits  rather  than  citizens,  for  which  they  an- 
nounced themselves.  It  would  avail  much  more  to 
remain  quiet;   that  he  was  going  to  knock  at  differ- 

10  ent  doors  to  get  food  and  wine,  if  there  was  any. 
In  fact,  he  went  to  one  in  front  of  the  gate  in  the  park. 
A  sick  man  presented  himself  and  said,  in  response 
to  his  request  to  give  wine  and  bread,  if  he  had  any, 
that  he  had  no  bread,  but  he  had  wine.     He  had  him 

is  draw  ten  or  twelve  jugs,  which  he  had  distributed 
among  all  the  women  by  armed  men.  Some  paid, 
others  did  not  pay.  He  told  this  individual  to  give 
as  much  of  it  as  the  women  wanted,  that  he  would 
pay  with  his  own  money,  and  if  he  did  not  have 

20  enough  he  would  give  him  an  order  on  the  city. 
But  this  individual  said  he  regretted  he  did  not  have 
more,  and  that  he  would  make  the  sacrifice  of  it 
without  retribution.  Several  women  thanked  him. 
They  set  out,  the  men  following  behind,  which  did 

as  not  cause  him  any  less  fear.  .  .  .  Accompanied  by  the 
women,  he  continued  his  route  to  reach  Versailles, 
and  having  passed  VirofHay,  they  encountered  sev- 
eral individuals  on  horseback,  who  appeared  to  be 
bourgeois,   having   black    cockades   in   their   hats. 

207 


The  French   Revolution 

They  stopped  them  and  were  inclined  to  take  extreme 
measures  against  them,  saying  they  ought  to  perish  be- 
cause of  the  insult  they  had  offered  and  were  offering  to 
the  national  cockade.    They  struck  one,  dragging  him 

s  from  his  horse,  tearing  from  him  his  black  cockade, 
which  one  of  the  women  gave  to  him  [Maillard]. 

.  .  .  He  obtained  his  pardon  on  condition  that  he 
would  surrender  his  horse,  march  behind  them,  and 
at  the  first  place  [they  reached]  they  would  place  a 

io  placard  on  his  back  (as  having  insulted  the  national 
cockade).  This  individual  consented  to  every- 
thing, provided  they  left  him  his  life.  One  of  the 
women  mounted  the  horse  and  set  off  to  notify  Ver- 
sailles that  they  were  coming.     A  little  farther  on 

is  they  encountered  two  more  bourgeois  on  horseback 
wearing  black  cockades.  The  horses  and  cockades 
were  confiscated.  As  they  approached  Versailles 
[Maillard]  arranged  the  women  in  three  rows  as  well 
as  he  could  and  formed  a  circle.     He  said  to  them 

20  that  the  three  pieces  of  cannon  they  had  could  not 
be  dragged  at  the  head  of  the  column.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  they  had  no  powder,  it  might  be  sus- 
pected that  their  intentions  were  bad.  They  ought 
rather  to  make  a  show  of  gayety  than  to  cause  a 

2s  riot  in  Versailles.  This  city  not  being  informed  of 
their  action,  the  inhabitants  might  suspect  them  of 
other  views,  and  they  would  be  the  victims  of  their 
devotion.  They  consented  to  do  what  he  wished. 
Consequently  the  cannon  were  placed  behind  them, 

208 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

and  he  invited  the  women  to  sing,' 'Long  live  Henry 
IV.!"  on  entering  Versailles,  and  to  cry,  "Long  live  the 
king!"  which  they  did  not  cease  to  repeat  in  the 
midst  of  this  people  who  awaited  them,  and  who 

s  cried,  "Long  live  our  Parisians!"  They  arrived  at  the 
door  of  the  national  assembly,  where  he  said  it  would 
be  imprudent  for  more  than  five  or  six  women  to 
present  themselves.  They  refused,  and  all  wanted 
to  enter.     An  officer  of  the  guard,  who  was  at  the 

10  assembly,  joined  him  and  invited  them  not  to  send 
more  than  a  dozen.     [March  3,  1790.] 

After  much  discussion  with  his  women,  there  were 
found  fifteen  among  them  who  went  with  him  to 
the  bar  of  the  national  assembly.     Of  these  fifteen 

is  women  he  knew  only  the  woman  Varennes,  of  whom 
he  had  previously  spoken.  .  .  .  Having  arrived  there, 
he  engaged  the  said  women  to  remain  silent  and  to 
let  him  present  to  the  assembly  their  requests,  which 
they  had  communicated  to  him  on  the  way.     To 

20  this  they  consented.  Then  he  asked  the  president 
for  the  floor.  M.  Mounier,  then  president,  gave  it 
to  him.  He  said  that  two  or  three  persons  in  a  court 
carriage,  whom  he  had  met  on  the  way,  had  told 
him  that  they  were  informed  that  an  abbe  connected 

as  with  the  assembly  had  given  to  a  miller  two  hundred 
livres  to  prevent  him  from  grinding — with  a  promise 
to  give  him  as  much  each  week.  The  national  as- 
sembly loudly  demanded  that  he  [Maillard]  should 
name  him.     He  was  unable  to  satisfy  their  request, 

209 


The  French   Revolution 

inasmuch  as  he  remembered  neither  the  names  of 
those  whom  these  people  had  denounced  to  him, 
nor  those  of  the  denunciators  even.  That  what  he 
could  say  was  that  he  remembered  that  they  lived 

5  in  the  Rue  du  Platre  Ste.-Avoye.  The  assembly 
still  persisting  in  the  desire  to  know  the  name  of 
the  person  denounced,  M.  de  Robespierre,  deputy 
from  Artois,  took  the  floor.  He  said  that  the 
stranger  introduced  into  the  august  diet  was  quite 

io  right,  and  that  he  believed  the  matter  had  been 
mentioned  that  morning;  that  the  Abbe  Gregoire 
could  throw  some  light  on  the  subject,  which  freed 
him  [Maillard]  from  giving  it  himself.  He  having 
the  floor,  said  that  to  establish  tranquillity,  to  re- 

is  store  quiet,  and  prevent  disorders,  he  begged  the 
gentlemen  of  the  assembly  to  name  a  delegation 
which  should  go  to  the  body  guards  for  the  purpose 
of  requesting  them  to  take  the  national  cockade,  and 
to  make  reparation  for  the  injury  it  was  said  they 

20  had  done  to  this  cockade.  Several  members  of  the 
assembly  raised  their  voices  and  said  it  was  false, 
that  the  guards  of  the  king  had  never  insulted  the 
national  cockade;  that  all  those  who  wished  to  be 
citizens  could  be  it  of  their  own  free  will,  and  that 

25  no  one  could  be  forced  to  do  it.  He  took  the  floor 
and,  showing  three  black  cockades,  which  were  those 
of  which  he  had  previously  spoken,  said  that  there 
should  be  no  person  in  existence  who  did  not  feel 
it  was  an  honor  to  be  [a  citizen] ;  that  if  there  were 

2IO 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

in  this  august  assembly  members  who  considered 
themselves  dishonored  by  the  title,  they  should  be 
expelled  at  once.  There  was  much  applause  and  the 
hall  resounded  with  cries  of,  "Yes,  all  ought  to  be, 

s  and  we  are  all  citizens!"  During  the  applause  a 
national  cockade  was  brought  to  him  from  the  body 
guards,  which  he  showed  to  all  the  women  that  they 
might  know  of  the  submission  of  these  first.  All 
the  women  cried:    "Long  live  the  king!    Long  the 

10  gentlemen  of  the  body  guards!"  He  then  asked  the 
president  for  the  floor,  and  said  that  it  was  also 
essential  to  prevent  disorder  and  settle  the  doubts 
which  prevailed  in  the  capital  upon  the  arrival  of 
the  regiment  of  Flanders  at  Versailles,   that  this 

is  regiment  should  be  sent  away,  because  the  citizens 
feared  a  revolution  by  means  of  them.  M.  Mounier 
replied  that  he  would  instruct  the  king  that  evening 
on  his  return  from  the  chase,  where  it  was  said  he 
was.     He  replied  that  he  would  be  glad  to  believe 

20  the  contrary  of  the  suspicions  and  cries  which  cir- 
culated and  agitated  the  capital,  that,  however,  he 
believed  for  the  good  of  the  citizens  the  king  should 
be  induced  to  declare  that  he  would  send  the  regi- 
ment away,  by  giving  him  the  idea  that  it  meant 

25  always  one  thousand  mouths  to  feed,  and  that  in  a 
time  of  distress  and  of  lack  of  bread,  in  which  we 
found  ourselves,  that  this  regiment  could  be  more 
easily  fed  in  a  provincial  city  than  close  to  the 
capital,  where  bread  was  worth  three  livres,  twelve 

211 


The  French  Revolution 

sous  for  four  pounds.  A  member,  a  chevalier  de 
Saint-Louis,  took  the  floor  and  charged  that  it  was 
false;  that  he  came  from  Paris;  that  he  knew  there 
was  difficulty  in  getting  bread,  but  it  was  not  worth 

s  more  than  twelve  and  a  half  sous,  and  that  he 
[Maillard]  was  imposing  on  the  assembly.  He  re- 
plied that  he  was  going  to  give  proof  of  what  he 
had  stated,  and  said  that  no  woman  could  stand  in 
the  crowd  at  the  baker's  door,  that  only  a  man  could 

io  do  so;  that  in  this  way,  this  man,  in  losing  his  day, 
lost  three  livres  and  twelve  sous,  which  the  bread 
cost  him ;  that  made  a  total  of  three  livres  and  twelve 
sous  for  him.  That  it  was  necessary  to  prevent 
such  disorders  as  were  caused  by  provincial  cities 

is  which  allowed  themselves  to  intercept  wagons  of 
grain  or  meal  destined  for  the  capital,  on  the  ground 
that  they  were  in  want  in  their  cities,  and  a  decree 
should  be  issued  against  all  persons  who  permitted 
themselves  to  do  these  things  without  legitimate 

20  cause.  The  president  replied  that  a  deputation 
would  be  sent  to  his  majesty  to  get  his  approval  of 
all  he  [Maillard]  had  just  requested,  but  that  it 
could  not  go  until  evening  inasmuch  as  the  king  had 
just  returned  from  the  hunt.     He  [Maillard]  said 

as  that  if  they  did  not  wish  to  go  immediately  to  his 
majesty  he  would  consider  himself  under  obligations 
to  go  himself  to  warn  him  of  the  dangers  which 
menaced  the  capital  at  the  time  of  their  departure; 
that,  without  doubt,  his  majesty  would  not  refuse 

212 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

to  receive  the  delegation  of  deputies;  that  his  maj- 
esty had,  probably,  seen  or  could  learn  that  the 
women  of  Paris  were  in  Versailles  in  very  large  num- 
bers, which  ought  to  cause  him  some  uneasiness. 

s  The  president  said  he  was  going  to  name  the  deputa- 
tion immediately,  that  he  would  be  a  member  of  it, 
and  that  they  would  then  go  to  his  majesty.  They 
departed,  in  truth,  telling  him  to  induce  the  women 
to  be  patient,  that  time  was  necessary  to  assemble 

10  the  ministers  of  the  king,  and  we  could  be  sure  that 
he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  fulfil  our  wishes. 
When  they  were  gone  he  felt  he  ought  to  stop  the 
remarks  the  women  were  making,  and  prevent  them 
from  getting  worked  up  against  the  clergy.     The 

is  proof  he  had  of  it  at  this  time  was  that  an  abbe, 
wearing  a  cross,  came  to  propose  to  one  of  these 
women,  in  order  to  keep  her  quiet,  that  she  should 
kiss  his  hand.  This  woman  struck  it  and  replied 
that  she  was  no  drab  to  kiss  the  paw  of  a  dog.     The 

20  abbe  retired,  and  all  the  women  shouted:  "Down 
with  the  calotte!  It's  the  entire  clergy  that  causes 
our  trouble!"  To  prevent  the  fury  of  these  women 
from  giving  vent  to  itself,  he  asked  the  president  for 
the  floor,  which  was  granted  him.     He  said,  in  order 

25  to  restrain  and  satisfy  these  women,  that  all  the 
citizens  of  the  capital  were  assured  that  they  occu- 
pied themselves  seriously  in  this  august  assembly 
with  forming  a  good  constitution,  but  he  had  heard, 
and  it  was  the  general  cry  in  the  capital,  that  it  is 

15  213 


The  French  Revolution 

the  clergy  who  thwarted  it  without  ceasing.  A  mem- 
ber on  the  left  of  the  president,  a  chevalier  of  Saint- 
Louis,  took  the  floor  and  said  that  when  a  stranger, 
introduced  into  an  august  diet,  permits  himself  to 

s  inculpate  members  of  the  assembly,  he  should  un- 
dergo exemplary  punishment  on  the  spot.  But  he 
[Maillard]  asked  the  president  that  he  might  be 
heard,  and  said  that  he  had  never  intended  to  in- 
culpate anybody ;  that  he  believed,  on  the  contrary, 

io  he  rendered  a  service  to  the  members  of  the  clergy, 
who  did  not  believe  themselves  culpable,  but  that 
he  imagined  that  when  the  one  who  was  denounced 
did  not  know  the  motive  of  his  accusation,  he  could 
not  justify  himself.     He  begged  the  gentlemen  of 

is  the  clergy  not  to  harbor  any  ill-will  against  him ; 
that  he  had  said  what  he  did  say  only  with  the 
intention  of  preventing  disorders  with  which  the 
clergy  were  not  acquainted.  .  .  .  M.  de  Robespierre 
delivered,  then,  a  speech  full  of  patriotism  which 

20  quieted  all  the  women  for  the  moment.  ...  A  dozen 
women  entered  the  national  assembly  and  said  that 
the  body  guards  had  just  fired  upon  them ;  that  one 
of  them  had  been  seized,  and  they  waited  for  him 
[Maillard]  to  come  outside  to  decide  the  kind  of 

25  death  he  deserved.  At  the  same  moment  a  dis- 
charge of  musketry  was  heard,  which  caused  alarm 
in  the  assembly,  and  he  was  requested  by  several 
deputies  to  take  steps  at  once  to  prevent  trouble. 
He  went  out  to  the  women.     He  saw  a  body  guard 

214 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

who  was  being  detained  by  the  bridle  of  his  horse. 
He  wished  to  dismount,  but  the  women  would  not 
let  him,  doing  him  no  harm,  only  making  injurious 
remarks.     When  the  body  guard  saw  him  approach 

5  to  speak  to  him,  he  drew  his  saber,  cut  the  reins  of 
his  horse,  the  point  striking  the  shoulder  of  a  woman, 
and  saved  himself.  He  attempted  to  run  after  him, 
but  could  not  catch  him.  The  body  guard  in  escap- 
ing discharged  a  pistol  behind,  but  did  not  strike 

10  him.  He  [Maillard]  re-entered  the  national  assem- 
bly, after  having  bound  all  these  women  not  to  go 
nearer  the  chateau.  At  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  the  president,  accompanied  by  the  depu- 
tation, returned  from  his  visit  to  the  king.     He  re- 

is  ported  the  words  of  the  king,  which  all  the  assembly 
heard  and  the  people  appeared  to  respect,  as  they 
tended  only  to  restore  tranquillity  among  his  people. 
Then  he  read  five  documents  relative  to  the  request 
the  national  guard  had  made  of  the  national  assembly 

20  and  of  the  king  concerning  food  supply.  His  maj- 
esty had  ordered  that  two  officers  should  accom- 
pany him  [Maillard]  on  his  return  to  Paris,  but  the 
women  opposed  this,  and  said  that  they  alone 
would   escort  him.     They   [the   documents]    were 

25  transcribed  upon  the  registers  of  the  assembly, 
and  copies  of  them  delivered  to  him  by  Vicomte 
de  Mirabeau,  and  immediately  afterward  he  re- 
turned to  Paris  with  some  of  these  women  in  a 
court  carriage  and  encountered  in  the  Avenue  de 

21S 


The  French  Revolution 

Versailles  the  national  guard  of  Paris.     [March  4, 
1790.] 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Premiere  partie,  No.  LXXXII, 
132. 
5  e.  Jeanne  Martin,  age  forty-nine  years,  nurse,  wife 
of  Jean  Lavarenne,  porter  of  the  little  Hotel  d'Aligre, 
with  whom  she  lives  in  the  Rue  Bailleul,  in  the 
parish  of  Saint-Germain-rAuxerrois,  deposes  that 
on  Monday,  the  fifth  of  last  October,  she  was  forced 

10  by  about  twoscore  of  women,  in  the  passage  of  the 
Louvre,  near  the  garden  of  1-  Infant,  to  go  with  them 
to  Versailles;  that  they  put  a  cudgel  in  her  hand, 
threatening  to  maltreat  her  if  she  did  not  march. 
She  observed  to  them  that  she  had  not  lunched,  that 

is  she  had  not  a  sou.  They  replied  to  her :  ' '  March ! 
March!  You  shall  lack  nothing!"  To  avoid  the 
rough  usage  with  which  she  was  menaced  she  fol- 
lowed these  women.  Having  reached  the  Tuileries, 
and  having  attempted  to  pass  through  the  garden, 

20  the  Swiss  Frederic  objecting  to  it  gave  rise  to  a 
brawl  between  this  Swiss  and  M.  Maillard,  who  was 
with  them  and  at  their  head.  Seeing  two  swords 
drawn  and  fearing  a  mishap,  she  delivered  upon  the 
swords  a  blow  with  the  club  she  carried,  by  which 

25  blow  the  combatants  were  disarmed.  A  man  armed 
with  a  bayonet  having  attempted  to  fall  upon  the 
Swiss,  a  woman  quite  poorly  dressed,  having  in  her 
hand  the  blade  of  a  rusty  sword  without  a  hilt, 
having  attempted  to  strike  a  blow  at  this  Swiss,  she 

216 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

[Jeanne  Martin]  and  some  other  women  opposed 
them,  and  in  the  scuffle  she  [Jeanne  Martin]  was 
wounded  in  the  hand.  They  all  passed  through  the 
Tuileries  and  continued  their  route  to  Versailles, 
s  with  some  other  women  who  joined  them  in  the 
Square  Louis  XV.,  in  the  Cour  la  Reine,  and  outside 
the  barrier.  Arrived  at  Sevres,  near  the  porcelain 
manufactory,  they  encountered  two  gentlemen,  one 
of  whom  had  a  cordon  noir,  the  other  wore  a  green 
10  coat,  who  said  to  them:  "Where  are  you  going, 
ladies?"  They  replied:  "We  are  going  to  Versailles 
to  ask  from  the  king  bread  for  ourselves,  for  our  hus- 
bands and  our  children,  and  the  provisioning  of  the 
capital."  These  individuals  said:  "Go,  my  chil- 
is dren,  comport  yourselves  well,  don't  insult  anybody. 
Peace  be  with  you."  Then  a  woman,  whom  she 
[Jeanne  Martin]  did  not  know,  but  who  was  armed 
with  a  sword,  said:  "Yes,  yes,  we  are  going  to  Ver- 
sailles. We  are  going  to  carry  the  head  of  the  queen 
20  on  the  point  of  a  sword. ' '  The  other  women  imposed 
silence  upon  her.  The  deponent  observed  that  along 
the  route  she  had  observed  the  passage  of  various 
couriers;  that  one  among  others  whom  the  women 
tried  to  stop  had  escaped  them,  after  having  thrown 
as  into  the  river  a  portfolio  with  which  he  was  bur- 
dened. Another  courier,  belonging  to  the  Due 
d'Orleans,  was  allowed  to  pass  freely,  starting  from 
Passy  to  go  to  Versailles.  All  along  the  route  they 
had  seen  other  couriers.     When   they  arrived   at 

217 


The  French   Revolution 

Versailles  the  regiment  of  Flanders  was  under  arms 
on  the  left  of  the  chateau,  and  the  body  guard  in 
front  of  the  grating.  They  sought  to  enter  the 
court,  but  were  prevented  from  doing  so.     A  man 

s  clothed  in  the  uniform  of  the  Parisian  guard,  armed 
with  a  saber,  having  traversed  the  ranks  of  the 
king's  guard,  a  guard  separated  himself  from  the 
others,  ran  upon  him,  saber  in  hand,  and  gave  him 
a  blow  which  knocked  his  hat  off.     Three  other 

io  guards  of  the  king  likewise  left  the  ranks  with  drawn 
sabers,  ran  after  this  man  on  the  side  of  the  barracks. 
Then  she  lost  sight  of  them.  The  women,  not  hav- 
ing been  able  to  get  into  the  courts  of  the  chateau, 
went,  she  likewise,  to  the  national  assembly.     M. 

is  Maillard  was  still  at  their  head.  A  score  of  women, 
of  whom  she  [Jeanne  Martin]  was  one,  were  taken 
to  the  bar  of  the  national  assembly.  They  were 
received  with  great  joy  and  affability.  They  were 
seated  upon  a  bench.     It  was  the  said  Maillard  who, 

20  alone  at  first,  spoke,  asking  for  bread  for  them,  their 
husbands  and  their  children,  and  the  provisioning  of 
the  capital.  Two  members  of  the  assembly  were 
delegated  with  nine  women  to  call  upon  the  king. 
Seven  only  entered,  so  they  told  her.     She  remained 

as  at  the  bar  of  the  assembly.  The  deputation  re- 
turned from  its  call  upon  the  king  only  at  ten  o'clock. 
The  reply  of  the  king  was  read.  It  was  then  given 
to  the  Vicomte  de  Mirabeau,  from  whose  hands  she 
received  it  to  remit  it  to  Maillard,  who  was  to  carry 

218 


The   Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

it  promptly  to  the  city  hall.  The  session  of  the  as- 
sembly having  closed  at  about  one  o'clock,  she  and 
many  other  women  slept  in  the  hall.  She  saw  no 
man  disguised  as  a  woman.     Nothing  occurred  offen- 

s  sive  to  honesty  and  decency.  At  five  o'clock,  on 
the  morning  of  the  6th,  she  and  two  other  women, 
whose  names  and  residences  are  unknown  to  her, 
left  the  hall  and  went  to  the  Place  d'Armes  and  then 
to  the  chateau,  where  they  saw  a  great  crowd  gather 

10  which  clambered  upon  the  gratings  to  get  into  the 
chateau,  the  gates  not  yet  being  open.  At  this 
moment  several  guards  of  the  king,  from  the  in- 
terior of  the  chateau,  fired  upon  the  people  with  their 
muskets.     She  noted  and  recognized  three  or  four 

is  of  them  by  their  dress  and  cross-belts.  By  this 
discharge  a  citizen  was  killed  in  the  court  of  marble. 
The  guard  of  the  king  who  had  killed  this  citizen 
was  led  to  the  Place  d'Armes,  where  he  lost  his  life. 
Another  guard  of  the  king,  having  driven  a  poignard 

20  into  the  arm  of  a  citizen,  who  was  severely  wounded 
and  taken  to  the  hospital,  this  guard  of  the  king 
was  at  once  wounded  by  a  blow  of  an  ax,  which  cut 
off  half  his  face,  and  he  was  then  taken  to  the  Place 
d'Armes,  where  he  was  killed  by  the  side  of  the  first. 

as  A  man  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Antoine,  having  a  long 
beard  and  armed  with  an  ax,  had  cut  off  the  heads 
of  the  said  guards  of  the  king.  Several  guards  of 
the  king,  likewise  menaced  by  the  women,  were  saved 
by  the  grenadiers  of  the  national  guard.     She  her- 

219 


The  French   Revolution 

self  helped  one  of  them  by  parrying  a  blow  aimed 
at  him  with  a  lance,  which  blow  she  received  on  her 
right  arm,  and  from  which  she  was  dangerously 
wounded. 

s  Shortly  after  M.  de  Lafayette  announced  that  the 
king  was  going  to  appear.  In  fact,  the  king  and  the 
royal  family  appeared  on  the  balcony.  Then  the 
people  cried:  "Long  live  the  king!  Long  live  the 
nation!     Long  live  the  dauphin!"     She  and  some 

io  other  women  having  cried:  "Long  live  the  queen!" 
women  of  the  people  struck  them  to  make  them  keep 
silent.  The  people  cried:  "Long  live  the  king! 
The  king  to  Paris !  The  king  to  Paris !"  The  king 
having  consented  to  this,  other  cries  of,  "Long  live 

is  the  king!"  were  heard.  The  queen,  accompanied  by 
M.  de  Lafayette,  appeared  on  the  balcony,  and  the 
latter  speaking,  said:  "The  queen  feels  badly  to 
see  what  she  sees  before  her  eyes.  She  has  been  de- 
ceived.    She  promises  that  she  will  be  no  longer. 

20  She  promises  to  love  her  people  and  be  attached  to 
them  as  Jesus  Christ  is  to  his  church."  In  sign 
of  approbation  the  queen,  weeping,  raised  her  hand 
twice.  The  king  asked  pardon  for  his  guards,  and 
the  people  repeated  his  words.     The  guards  of  the 

2s  king,  on  their  side,  cried :  ' '  Long  live  the  king ! 
Long  live  the  nation!"  and  threw  their  hats  and 
cross-belts,  and  some  even  money,  from  the  win- 
dows. The  grenadiers  put  their  bonnets  on  the 
guards  of  the  king,  and  also  cried:   "Long  live  the 

220 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

king!  Long  live  the  nation!"  At  this  moment  the 
king  declared  that  at  noon  he  would  set  out  for 
Paris.  After  that  she  set  out  alone  to  return.  On 
her  way,  having  reached  the  hamlet  of  Point  du 

s  Jour,  certain  individuals  recognized  her,  made  her 
get  into  their  carriage,  and  brought  her  home. 
[March  5,  1790.] 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Premidre  partie,  No.  LXXIII, 
109. 

to  f .  Alexis  Grincourt,  about  forty-two  years  of  age, 
master  upholsterer,  living  at  Versailles,  Rue  de  la 
Paroisse  Notre  Dame,  deposes  that,  the  same  day 
[October  5th],  at  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
he  being  in  the  Place  d'Armes,  saw  some  women 

is  of  the  lower  class  come  from  Paris.  Their  arrival 
caused  some  uneasiness.  The  guards  of  the  king 
assembled  in  the  above  mentioned  square.  An  in- 
dividual clothed  in  the  coat  of  the  Parisian  national 
guard,  having  traversed  the  ranks  of  the  guards  of 

20  the  king,  one  of  them  ran  upon  him  with  a  drawn 
saber  in  his  hand,  seeking  to  strike  him.  The  blows 
were  parried  by  the  individual  with  his  saber,  who 
then  took  refuge  in  the  barracks.  Two  other  guards 
of  the  king  went  after  this  individual,   either  to 

25  arrest  him  or  to  prevent  unpleasant  consequences. 
It  was  at  this  moment  that  M.  de  Savonnieres  was 
struck  by  a  shot  from  a  gun  fired  at  him  by  an  in- 
dividual miserably  dressed.  The  drums  beat  to 
arms.     Then  the  national  soldiers  of  Versailles  were 

221 


The  French   Revolution 

called  to  arms,  and  assembled  at  the  main  guard 
house  in  the  Place  d'Armes.  At  about  eight  o'clock 
the  order  was  given  them  to  retire,  which  they  did. 
The  guards  of  the  king  were  likewise  withdrawn,  and 

5  as  they  retired  they  were  hissed  by  some  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  lower  class.  The  rear  of  the  column  hav- 
ing fired  some  pistol  shots,  no  doubt  to  intimidate 
the  people — for  no  one  was  wounded,  at  least  to  his 
[Grincourt's]  knowledge — a  discharge  of  about  sixty 

io  gtfns  was  made  upon  the  guards  of  the  king.  He  did 
not  know  whether  any  of  them  were  wounded,  not 
having  any  acquaintance  with  them.  Tuesday,  the 
sixth  of  October,  at  seven  or  thereabouts,  he  saw 
two  heads  carried  at  the  ends  of  pikes.     He  went  to 

15  the  marble  court,  where  he  saw  the  corpse  of  a  per- 
son who  had  his  head  broken.  Two  persons  clad  in 
the  uniform  of  the  national  guard  of  Paris  held  by 
the  collar  a  guard  of  the  king  who  appeared  to  have 
come  from  the  apartments,  to  whom  they  showed 

20  this  corpse  and  attributed  his  death  to  him.  This 
guard  of  the  king  protested  his  innocence  of  the 
unhappy  deed.  Notwithstanding  his  protestations, 
the  people  shouted:  "He  must  be  hung!  He  must 
be  hung!"     He  and  some  other  persons  having  be- 

25  gun  to  shout :  "He  must  be  taken  to  Paris !  to  Paris !" 
they  succeeded  in  taking  him  to  the  main  guard 
house,  where,  on  the  arrival  of  M.  de  Lafayette,  this 
guard  of  the  king  was  taken  from  the  hands  of  those 
who  were  seeking  to  sacrifice  him.  [February  2  6 , 1 7  90.] 

222 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Suite,  No.  CCLXIX,  136. 

g.  Simon- Louis-Pierre  de  Cubi&res,  forty-one  years 
of  age,  equerry  of  the  king,  living  in  Versailles  at 
the  little  stables,   deposes   that   Monday,   fifth  of 

s  October  last,  at  half  past  two,  being  at  the  little 
stables  of  the  king  in  Versailles,  a  letter  was  brought 
to  him  to  be  sent  to  the  king.  Through  zeal,  he 
asked  to  be  permitted  to  carry  it,  knowing  the  place 
where  the  king  was  hunting.     He  set  out  at  once 

10  and  overtook  the  king,  who  was  shooting  in  the 
woods  of  Meudon.  Having  given  the  king  the  let- 
ter, he  read  it  and  had  the  goodness  to  say  to  him 
that  there  had  been  a  disturbance  the  night  before 
at  the  grain  market;    that  they  informed  him  that 

15  women  were  coming  from  Paris  to  ask  for  bread. 
The  king  added,  in  a  voice  touched  by  emotion: 
''Alas!  if  I  had  it,  they  would  not  need  to  come  to 
ask  me  for  it."  Shortly  after  the  king  decided  to 
mount  his  horse  to  return  to  Versailles.     As  he  was 

20  putting  his  foot  in  the  stirrup,  a  chevalier  of  Saint- 
Louis,  unknown  to  him  [Simon- Louis-Pierre]  came  to 
say  to  the  king  that  he  arrived  from  Paris;  that  he 
came  to  off  er  his  services  to  his  majesty;  that  he  was 
ready  to  defend  him  even  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood. 

25  To  which  the  king  replied  to  this  officer  that  he  was 
touched  by  his  zeal,  but  that  he  had  no  need  of  his 
services.  When  the  king  had  mounted,  he  charged 
M.  de  Briges  to  go  back  to  ask  the  name  of  the 
officer.     M.  de  Briges  returned  and  said  to  the  king 

223 


The  French   Revolution 

that  this  officer  refused  to  tell  his  name.  He  re- 
turned to  Versailles  with  the  king,  conducted  him 
to  his  cabinet,  and  knows  nothing  further,  as  a 
witness,  of  what  took  place.  [May  21,  1790.] 
s  5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Premiere  partie,  No.  LXI,  98. 
h.  Jean-Jacques  de  Tergat,  almost  fifty  years  of 
age,  captain  of  infantry,  lieutenant  of  the  company  of 
the  guards  of  the  provost  of  the  city  and  of  the  grand 
provost  of  France,  living  at  Versailles,  Place  Dau- 

10  phine,  and  at  Paris,  Rue  Saint-Honore,  No.  614,  de- 
poses that  all  he  knows  of  the  events  in  question  is 
that  being  on  duty  at  the  national  assembly  at  Ver- 
sailles on  the  fifth  of  October  last,  warned  by  what 
he  had  heard  the  evening  before,  that  women  and 

is  men  of  Paris,  in  very  great  number,  were  coming  to 
carry  off  the  king,  the  royal  family,  and  the  national 
assembly,  and  informed  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  that  men  and  women  had  been  seen  in  the 
plain  of  Sevres  armed  with  pikes,  guns,  and  other 

20  arms,  who  were  dragging  cannon,  he  saw  them  arrive 
about  half  past  four  in  the  Avenue  de  Paris  and 
enter  the  national  assembly.  The  first  group  was 
nearly  all  women.  They  had  at  their  head  an  in- 
dividual whom  they  called  Maillard,  and  in  whom 

25  they  appeared  to  have  great  confidence.  The  matter 
having  been  reported  to  the  president,  he  ordered 
that  a  dozen  of  them  should  be  allowed  to  enter. 
In  accordance  with  this  order,  about  a  score  of  these 
women  entered,  having  at  their  head  the  said  Mail- 

224 


The   Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

lard  and  another  individual,  who  they  said  was  a 
former  French  guard,  and  from  whose  neck  they 
had  taken  away  the  cord  as  he  was  about  to  be  hung 
for  having  sounded  the  alarm  bell.     Maillard,  who 

s  was  spokesman,  said  they  had  come  to  ask  for  bread, 
and  that  they  were  certain  money  had  been  distributed 
to  the  millers  to  keep  them  from  grinding,  but  they 
could  furnish  no  proof  of  this  fact.  The  assembly 
continued  its  session  and  passed  a  decree  upon  food 

10  supply,  and  carried  it  at  once  to  the  king,  who  sanc- 
tioned it.  In  the  midst  of  all  this,  some  one  came 
to  inform  him  [Tergat]  that  the  court  was  filling 
again  with  people.  Having  gone  out,  he  found  a 
considerable  number  of  women  who  asked  to  enter 

is  to  see  Maillard.  M.  Gaudron  Dutilloy,  major  of 
his  company,  who  had  been  notified  in  advance  of 
the  arrival  of  these  women,  who  had  gone  to  the 
assembly  hall  with  a  detachment  of  sixty  men,  did 
everything  possible  in  concert  with  him  to  insure 

20  the  tranquillity  of  the  assembly.  In  the  midst  of 
these  people  he  had  heard  uttered,  he  does  not  know 
by  whom,  a  great  mass  of  remarks  and  horrors 
against  the  queen,  which  made  clear  the  design 
they  had  of  subjecting  her  to  the  most  atrocious 

as  treatment.  These  things  he  and  M.  Dutilloy,  who 
ran  the  risk  of  losing  their  lives  at  this  moment, 
heard  very  clearly,  and  they  were  repeated  several 
times.  Seeing  the  court  full  of  these  people,  and  on 
account  of  the  bad  weather,  he  made  them  enter  a 

225 


The  French  Revolution 

wooden  house  recently  constructed  for  a  committee 
room.  The  court  having  filled  again  with  men  and 
women,  he  asked  those  who  were  in  the  public  gal- 
leries of  the  assembly  to  retire,  which  they  did,  and 

s  he  put  in  their  places  the  people  who  had  recently 
arrived  in  the  court.  Having  noted  many  people 
armed  with  pikes,  and  others  who  wished  to  enter 
into  the  court  in  spite  of  the  guard,  he  called  Mail- 
lard,  who,  having  come,  spoke  to  the  people,  re- 

10  strained  them,  and  succeeded  in  inducing  them  to 
abandon  their  arms  before  entering.  The  court 
having  filled  a  third  time,  at  his  suggestion  the 
president  and  the  members  of  the  assembly  consented 
to  let  everybody  enter  the  hall.     After  the  last  ses- 

15  sion  of  the  assembly  had  ended,  as  far  as  possible 
food  and  drink  were  supplied  to  everybody.  About 
eight,  nine  or  ten  hundred  passed  the  night  in  the 
hall.  As  they  were  spattered  with  mud  and  wet, 
some  took  off  the  skirts  they  had  over  their  trousers, 

20  and  others  the  trousers  and  stockings  they  had  under 
their  skirts,  to  dry  them.  During  the  night  there 
passed  among  these  people  indecent  scenes  which 
he  considers  useless  to  recount.  During  the  course 
of  the  same  night,  on  visiting  the  posts  and  having 

2s  arrived  at  that  one  near  the  treasury  and  the  ar- 
chives, he  heard  the  grenadiers  talking  together,  and 
one  of  them  said  to  his  companions  that  the  report 
was  going  about  that  they  ought  to  force  the  body 
guards  to  defile  before  the  national  guard,  hats  in 

226 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

hand,  and  bend  the  knee.  This  report  was  so  dis- 
tasteful to  one  of  the  grenadiers  that  he  said  he 
would  prefer  to  be  cut  to  pieces  rather  than  suffer 
such  humiliation.     A  man   dressed  in   a  uniform, 

s  with  the  epaulets  of  a  Parisian  national  guard, 
said  that  it  was  necessary  to  kill  them  all,  even  to 
the  last  one,  to  tear  out  their  hearts,  to  fricassee 
them  and  dine  upon  them.  These  remarks,  he  had 
heard,  had  so  exasperated  the  people  present,  this  in- 

10  dividual  had  barely  time  to  escape,  for  without  this 
flight  he  would  have  fared  ill.  Toward  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  as  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  people 
remained  in  the  hall,  he  made  clear  to  them  that  it 
was  necessary  for  them  to  withdraw,  as  the  deputies 

15  were  to  sit  at  an  early  hour.  They  all  agreed  to  do 
so,  and  withdrew  in  a  friendly  way.  [February  23, 
1790.] 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Suite,  No.  CCCLXXIII,  28. 
j.  Felix  Alandre  Gallemand,  twenty  years  of  age, 

20  secretary  in  the  committee  of  the  constitution  of  the 
national  assembly,  living  in  Paris,  Place  Vendome, 
No.  4,  deposes  that,  about  six  o'clock  [the  morning 
of  the  sixth],  he  saw  a  very  large  troop  of  people  of 
both  sexes  armed  with  pikes,  cudgels,  and  other  arms 

25  enter  the  court  of  the  ministers  by  the  iron  gate, 
which  was  open  according  to  custom,  and  advance 
as  far  as  the  iron  gate  of  the  royal  court,  which  they 
refused  to  open  for  them.  Then  this  troop  divided 
into  two  bands;  the  one  went  to  the  court  of  the 

227 


The  French   Revolution 

chapel,  and  the  other  to  the  court  of  the  princes. 
This  last  one  reached  the  royal  court  by  the  passage 
which  connects  it  with  that  of  the  princes.  It  pre- 
sented itself  at  the  foot  of  the  grand  staircase,  where 

s  entrance  was  refused  by  the  Cent-Suisses,  who  were 
there  on  guard.  A  former  French  guard,  having 
taken  the  post,  let  a  very  small  number  pass.  Dur- 
ing this  time  a  body  guard,  who  was  on  the  balcony, 
was  fired  at  by  a  Parisian  national  guard,  who  was 

io  alone  among  this  troop  of  people  armed  with  pikes 
and  cudgels.  The  guard  of  the  king  was  not  struck 
by  the  shot,  and  replied  to  it  by  a  pistol  shot  which 
blew  out  the  brains  of  the  national  guard.  Then 
the  people  with  pikes  rushed  forward  in  a  crowd  and 

is  furiously  mounted  the  staircase  and  threw  them- 
selves upon  several  guards  of  the  king,  who  were  over- 
powered. This  same  troop  went  immediately  to  the 
apartment  of  the  queen,  led  by  a  man  poorly  dressed. 
The  guard  of  the  king,  who  was  on  duty  at  the  door 

ao  of  this  apartment,  was  killed  while  defending  the 
entrance,  but  yet  he  had  time  to  cry  through  the 
keyhole,  "Save  the  queen!"  One  of  his  comrades 
came  to  take  his  place,  to  defend  the  entrance  to 
the  apartment.     He  got  a  blow  on  the  head  from 

25  the  butt  of  a  musket,  given  him  by  a  soldier  of  the 
guard  of  Versailles,  who,  he  had  since  been  told,  was 
a  carpenter  employed  by  the  royal  government. 
This  man,  believing  the  body  guard  to  be  dead,  took 
his  two  watches  and  money  away  from  him,  and  left 

228 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

him  and  entered  the  apartment  of  the  queen,  with 

others  of  the  pikemen  in  large  numbers.     [July  3, 

1790.] 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Suite,  60. 

s  k.  Nicolas  la  Roque  de  Saint- Virieu,  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  king's  body  guard,  Scotch  company, 
living  at  Port-Audemer,  Rue  aux  Juifs,  parish  Saint- 
Ouen,  deposes  that,  the  sixth  of  the  same  month  of 
October,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  relieved 

10  the  sentinel  of  the  queen's  hall.  At  a  quarter  after 
six  he  learned  that  the  court  of  the  chateau  was  filled 
with  people  armed  with  pikes,  sabers,  and  guns,  and 
he  soon  heard  them  moving  with  frightful  cries  tow- 
ard the  grand  staircase.     Five  or  six  of  his  com- 

15  rades,  who  were  with  him  in  the  hall  of  the  queen, 
went  quickly  to  the  head  of  the  staircase  to  attempt 
to  appease  the  people  mentioned,  and  to  ask  them 
to  descend.  As  soon  as  these  last  saw  them  they 
cried:    "Down  with  your  arms!"  and  fell  at  once 

20  upon  his  comrades,  which  caused  them  to  re-enter 
the  hall  as  quickly  as  possible  and  close  the  door 
promptly.  At  the  same  moment  he  and  his  com- 
rades decided  to  go  to  the  queen,  persuaded  that  it 
was  her  majesty  they  were  after  and  that  they  had 

25  no  time  to  lose  in  saving  her.  They  had,  in  fact, 
hardly  entered  the  first  apartment  when  the  door 
opening  on  the  staircase  was  broken  in,  but  a  screen 
which  was  before  them  gave  them  time  to  close  the 
door  of  the  apartment  after  they  had  entered,  and 
16  229 


The  French   Revolution 

prevented  them  from  being  seen  by  anybody.  They 
penetrated  to  the  antechamber  of  the  queen,  but 
could  not  enter,  the  door  being  barred  on  the  inside. 
One  of  the  queen's  women,  who  did  not  take  them 

s  for  body  guards,  refused  to  open  the  door  of  the 
antechamber,  or,  at  least,  she  did  not  at  first  reply 
to  the  urgent  requests  that  it  be  opened  for  them. 
This  woman  made  a  great  lament.  He  spoke  to 
her   through   the   keyhole,    and   having   made   her 

io  understand  that  they  were  really  body  guards,  and 
that  the  queen  was  in  the  greatest  danger  if  they  were 
not  permitted  to  enter  the  antechamber,  this  woman 
decided  at  last  to  open  the  door.  He  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  in  speaking  to  this  woman  he  made 

is  no  more  noise  than  was  necessary  for  her  to  hear  him. 
The  door  of  the  antechamber  being  opened,  the 
woman  of  whom  he  had  just  spoken  cast  herself  at 
their  feet  and  conjured  them  not  to  abandon  the 
queen.     They  replied  they  would  save  her  majesty 

20  even  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  and  that  there  were 
enough  of  them  to  resist  as  long  as  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  enable  her  majesty  to  arise  and  withdraw. 
He  and  two  or  three  of  his  comrades  were  at  once 
introduced  into  the  very  chamber  of  the  queen. 

25  One  of  her  majesty's  women  came  to  say  to  them 
that  the  queen  was  about  to  rise.  They  retired  at 
once  and  drew  up  at  the  door  outside  the  apartment. 
When  the  queen  had  risen,  she  went  to  the  room  of 
the  king,   who  shortly  after  entered  the  queen's 

230 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

chamber  from  the  opposite  side.  The  king  asked 
eagerly  and  with  a  look  of  concern  where  the  queen 
was.  They  assured  the  king  that  the  queen  had 
gone  to  his  room.     The  king  left  them  promptly  to 

s  go  to  join  the  queen.  He  and  his  comrades  wished 
to  follow  to  protect  his  royal  person,  but  his  majesty 
prevented  them  from  doing  so,  telling  them  to  re- 
main and  that  he  would  not  delay  to  send  them 
orders.     They  received,  in  fact,  shortly  afterward, 

10  instructions  to  betake  themselves  to  the  Oeil-de- 
Boeuf,  where  they  found  many  of  their  comrades. 
They  remained  about  an  hour  in  this  last  apart- 
ment, on  the  door  of  which  blows  were  rained,  as  if 
the  intention  was  to  break  it  in.     This  door  had  been 

is  barricaded  inside  with  benches,  stools,  and  every- 
thing he  and  his  comrades  could  find.  It  was  not 
entirely  broken  in,  only  splintered.  The  moment 
came  when  he  and  his  comrades  were  about  to  be 
taken ;  but  they  were  delivered  by  the  former  French 

20  guards,  at  that  time  national  guards.  [June  26, 1 790.] 
5 .  Procedure  criminelle,  Premidre  partie,  No.  LXXXVI, 

139. 
1.  Marie-Elizabeth  Nolle,  sixty-one  years  of  age, 
widow  of  M.  Pierre  Thibault,  first  chambermaid  of 
25  the  queen,  living  in  Paris,  Rue  des  Petits-Augustins, 
No.  16,  deposes  that,  the  fifth  of  last  October,  she 
was  in  service  with  the  queen.  She  did  not  leave 
the  apartment  of  her  majesty  on  that  day,  and  knows 
only  by  hearsay  what  took  place  in  Versailles  on 

331 


The  French  Revolution 

that  day.  Her  majesty  having  retired,  she  [Nolle] 
threw  herself  on  her  bed  in  a  small  room  which  pre- 
cedes the  sleeping  -  room  of  the  queen.  Tuesday, 
the  sixth  of  October,  at  a  quarter  after  six  in  the 

s  morning,  she  heard  a  great  noise.  She  rose  to  find 
out  where  this  noise  came  from  and  what  caused 
it.  She  saw  that  it  was  some  women  of  the  lower 
class  who  were  upon  the  terrace.  The  queen  having 
rung  at  this  moment,  she  entered  the  sleeping-room. 

io  The  queen  having  asked  her  what  the  noise  was, 
she  replied  to  her  that  it  was  those  women  from 
Paris,  who,  probably  having  no  place  to  sleep,  were 
walking  about.  This  reply  appeared  to  quiet  the 
queen,  and  she  withdrew.     In  about  a  quarter  of  an 

is  hour  she  heard  a  much  greater  noise,  which  came 
from  the  guard  room.  She  and  Madame  Augue, 
another  chambermaid  of  the  queen,  opened  the  door 
of  the  room  where  they  were  and  saw  that  some 
brigands  were  trying  to  force  the  guard  in  order  to 

20  enter,  which  the  guard  prevented  by  forming  a  bar- 
rier with  their  guns  placed  across  the  door.  She, 
frightened,  entered  precipitately  into  the  room  where 
the  queen  was  lying.  She  had  her  get  up,  slipped  on 
a  skirt  and  stockings,  and  by  a  secret  passage  she, 

as  with  the  said  Augue,  took  her  to  the  king,  and  from 

that  time  did  not  leave  her.     [March  9,  1790.] 

5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Suite,  No.  CCCLXXXVI,  51. 

m.  Jean-Baptiste-Pierre  Prieur,  forty-six  years  of 

age,  servant  of  king's  chamber,  living  at  Versailles, 

232 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

Rue  d'Anjou,  parish  Saint-Louis,  deposes  that  he  was 
at  Versailles  the  fifth  of  last  October.  At  about  four 
o'clock,  the  king  having  returned  from  the  chase, 
they  saw  from  the  windows  of  the  chamber  of  his 

s  majesty  a  multitude  of  women  approach  the  grating 
of  the  chateau.  It  was  closed.  These  women 
named  a  delegation  of  four  or  five  from  among  them 
who  were  conducted  by  a  sentinel  to  the  door  of  the 
Oeil-de-Boeuf,  where  they  were  introduced.      They 

10  were  received  by  the  ministers  of  the  king.  They 
asked  for  bread.  The  ministers  replied  that  the 
king  had  made  all  the  sacrifices  in  his  power  to  ob- 
tain it  for  them;  that  they  ought  to  know  that  the 
farmers   were   occupied  in   sowing  and   could   not 

is  thresh.  ...  He  was  with  the  ministers,  who  were  MM. 
Necker  and  Saint-Priest,  and  who  said  nothing  else 
to  these  women.  These  last  asked  to  speak  to  the 
king.  His  majesty  came  and  spoke  to  them  with 
great  kindness.     He  said  to  them,  with  tears  in  his 

20  eyes:  "You  ought  to  know  my  heart.  I  am  going 
to  have  all  the  bread  in  Versailles  collected  and 
given  to  you."  These  women  retired  satisfied.  A 
quarter  of  an  hour  later  these  same  women,  followed 
by  a  great  number  of  others,  presented  themselves 

25  in  a  tumult  at  the  Oeil-de-Boeuf.  They  pretended 
that  their  comrades  were  not  contented  with  the 
word  of  the  king;  they  wanted  a  paper  signed  by 
him.  They  gave  the  assurance  that  they  wanted 
only  bread,  that  they  were  not  followed  by  any 

233 


The  French  Revolution 

armed  band.  These  women  were  introduced  into 
the  council  chamber.  It  appeared  to  all  present 
that  they  were  not  women  from  the  markets,  but 
courtezans  from  the  Palais  Royal  and  the  Rue  Saint- 

s  Honore  and  the  Rue  Richelieu  and  adjacent  places, 
disguised,  having  only  mob-caps  on  their  heads. 
Some  of  them  were  very  pretty.  Several  persons, 
having  taken  some  of  them  by  the  hand,  found  these 
women  had  a  very  white  and  soft  skin.     The  guard 

io  of  the  seals  drew  up  hastily  an  order  which  the  king 
signed  ordering  grain  to  be  brought  from  Lagni  and 
other  neighboring  places.  This  order  was  given 
to  the  women,  who  retired  contented.  [July  26, 
1790.] 

is  5.  Procedure  criminelle,  Suite  y  No.  CLXXXV,  26. 

n.  Jules-Marie-Henri,  Comte  de  Farel,  Marquis  de 

Fournes,  colonel  of  the  regiment  Royal-Champagne, 

cavalry,  deputy  to  the  national  assembly,  thirty-six 

years  old,  living  in  Paris,  Rue  de  Bellechasse,  corner 

20  of  that  of  the  University,  deposes  that,  the  next  day, 
Tuesday,  he  set  out  from  here  at  daybreak  to  go  to 
Versailles.  He  passed  the  Vaugirard  barrier,  where 
he  had  been  stopped  the  evening  before  because  of 
the  lack  of  a  passport  from  the  commune  or  the  dis- 

25  tricts.  On  the  route  he  encountered,  near  Virofflay, 
two  heads  on  the  ends  of  pikes,  borne  by  two  men  and 
followed  by  about  a  dozen.  These  heads  were  even 
presented  at  the  door  of  his  carriage.  [April  23, 
1790.] 

234 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5   and  6,  1789 

6.  Salmour,  Comte  de,  Correspondance  in  Flammer- 
mont,    264. 

Paris,  October  g,  1789. 
The  king  returned  from  the  chase  at  about  seven 

s  o'clock,  entering,  as  he  had  always  done  since  the 
beginning  of  the  revolution,  by  the  gates  at  the  back 
of  the  park.  The  president  of  the  national  assembly 
was  at  once  introduced,  and  with  him  a  deputation  of 
fifteen  women,  who  complained  to  the  king  of  the 

10  bad  police  and  of  the  lack  of  food.  The  king  an- 
swered them  that  he  loved  his  good  city  of  Paris  too 
well  to  ever  let  it  lack  anything;  that  as  long  as  he 
had  charge  of  the  food  supply  it  had  never  lacked 
anything,  but  since  these  gentlemen  (pointing  to  the 

is  deputies  of  the  assembly)  had  bound  his  hands,  it 
was  not  his  fault;  that  he  did  not  believe  it  was 
possible  at  once  to  reduce  bread  to  eight  sous  and 
meat  to  six,  as  they  wished,  but  he  was  going  to  give 
orders  and  co-operate  with  the  national  assembly  in 

20  order  that  the  next  day  they  might  be  satisfied  as 
far  as  possible. 

As  soon  as  they  came  to  report  this  satisfying  re- 
sponse to  their  comrades  they  declared  it  could  not 
be  true,  that  they  had  surely  been  corrupted  by 

25  money.  They  were  going  to  hang  them,  but  by 
the  intercession  of  the  deputies  they  were  permitted 
to  go  and  obtain  in  writing  the  confirmation  of  what 
they  had  asserted.  Introduced  again  into  the  king's 
presence,  his  majesty  wrote  himself  and  signed  what 

235 


The  French   Revolution 

they  had  just  said.  Calmed  by  this  assurance,  all 
these  women  followed  the  deputies  to  the  national 
assembly,  assuring  the  body  guards  that  some  people 
were  going  to  come  from  Paris  who  would  avenge 

s  them  for  the  ill  treatment  they  pretended  they  had 
experienced  at  their  hands.  Arrived  at  the  assem- 
bly, they  filled  the  whole  room,  established  them- 
selves upon  the  benches,  asked  to  have  M.  de  Mira- 
beau  speak,  who  protested  with  much  dignity  against 

10  the  indecency  of  this  assembly.  These  women  fin- 
ished by  getting  what  they  wanted.  Nothing  could 
be  discussed.  The  Bishop  of  Langres  presided  in 
the  absence  of  Mounier,  who,  having  been  to  see 
the  king,  finally  came  to  announce  the  acceptance 

is  pure  and  simple  of  the  rights  of  man,  and  of  the 
constitution.  There  was  no  member  of  the  clergy, 
very  few  of  the  ancient  party  of  the  aristocrats,  who 
had  all  concealed  themselves,  since  the  people  had 
named  several  of  them  as  being  the  actual  cause  of 

20  their  misfortunes,  whom  they  sought  to  immolate 
to  their  resentment.  The  session  was  adjourned  at 
half  past  ten.  It  rained  in  torrents  all  day.  At 
nine  o'clock,  nothing  having  happened,  the  king 
ordered  the  body  guard  to  go  to  its  quarters.     It 

as  made  a  movement  by  half  squadrons  to  form  a 
column.  The  people,  believing  they  were  going  td 
charge,  put  themselves  on  the  defensive.  The 
militia  of  Versailles  and  its  guard  house  fired  volleys 
into  them,  which  wounded  fifteen  or  sixteen  of  them 

236 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

and  put  them  to  flight,  so  that  they  were  not  able 
to  rally  before  they  had  reached  the  park  on  the 
other  side  of  the  terrace,  in  front  of  the  apartments 
of  the  dauphin.     Some  one  came  at  eleven  o'clock 

s  to  announce  that  the  troops  of  Paris  were  arriving. 
The  king  then  wished  to  carry  out  a  plan  for  flight, 
and  M.  de  Cubieres,  his  equerry,  gave  orders  for 
six  hunting  carriages  to  be  harnessed  to  go  at  a  walk 
to  the  gate  of  the  orangery,  from  there,  under  the 

10  escort  of  the  body  guards,  to  reach  the  open  country. 
As  soon  as  the  horses  were  harnessed  the  gates 
of  the  stables  were  opened,  but  the  carriages,  which, 
according  to  the  description  of  the  locality  which  I 
have  given  your  Eminence,  were  obliged  to  cross  the 

15  Place  d'Armes,  were  stopped  by  the  people,  who 
cried,  "The  king  is  going  away!"  The  first  two, 
which  by  the  rapidity  of  their  movement  had  made 
an  opening  through  the  crowd,  arrived  at  the  gate 
of  the  orangery,  found  it  closed,  were  stopped  in  the 

20  name  of  the  nation  by  some  men,  who  cut  the  traces. 

M.   Necker  during  this    time   had    reached    the 

apartments  of  the  king  through  the  interior  of  the 

palace,  and  with  the  Comte  de  Montmorin  influenced 

the  king,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  other  ministers, 

as  not  to  go  away.  M.  de  Lafayette  had  meanwhile 
halted  at  Petit  Montreuil,  at  the  end  of  the  Avenue 
de  Paris.  There  he  drew  up  his  troops  in  order  of 
battle,  and  after  having  reminded  them  of  the  oath 
of  fidelity  to  the  nation  and  to  the  king  he  divided 

237 


The  French  Revolution 

them  into  two  columns,  which,  with  the  artillery  at  the 
head,  arrived  by  the  two  avenues  of  Paris  and  Saint- 
Cloud.  Many  deputies  had  gone  to  the  chateau. 
The  king  asked  to  have  them  all  called,  and  those  in 

s  the  city  were  called  by  the  beating  of  drums.  M.  de 
Lafayette  arrived  alone  with  four  officers.  The 
iron  gates  of  the  chateau  were  opened  to  him.  He 
ascended  to  the  apartments  of  the  king  with  those 
who  accompanied  him.     The  crowd,  which  was  in 

io  the  Oeil-de-Boeuf,  followed  him  into  the  room  and 
heard  him  pronounce  these  words:  "Sire,  you  see 
before  you  the  most  unhappy  of  men  to  be  obliged 
to  appear  here  in  these  circumstances  and  in  this 
manner.     If  I  had  believed   I  could  have  served 

15  more  usefully  Your  Majesty  by  placing  my  head  on 
the  block,  Your  Majesty  would  not  see  me  here." 
The  king  replied  to  him:  "You  should  not  doubt, 
M.  de  Lafayette,  the  pleasure  I  always  have  in  seeing 
you  as  well  as  my  good  Parisians.     Go  testify  to 

20  them  of  these  sentiments  on  my  part."  The  gen- 
eral went  out  immediately  to  present  himself  to  his 
troops,  which  he  drew  up  in  order  of  battle  in  the  Place 
d'Armes  and  the  region  round  about.  As  soon  as 
the  troops  of  Paris  arrived,  the  regiment  of  Flanders, 

25  which  had  retired  to  the  stables  to  shelter  itself  from 
the  bad  weather,  lowered  their  guns  and  opened  the 
pans  to  show  that  they  were  not  loaded.  After  which 
they  placed  their  guns  on  the  ground  and  the  car- 
tridges beside  them,  and  the  soldiers  made  a  right 

238 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

face  to  enter  again.  Their  arms  were  immediately 
returned  to  them,  and  fraternity  was  established  be- 
tween them  and  the  national  militia.  M.  Mounier 
went  to  the  king's  apartments  a  short  time  after 

s  the  exit  of  M.  de  Lafayette.  The  king  said  to  him: 
"I  had  you  come  to  surround  me  with  representa- 
tives of  the  nation,  but  I  have  already  seen  M.  de 
Lafayette."  As  soon  as  the  general  had  made  the 
necessary  dispositions  outside   he  returned  to  the 

10  king,  where  he  remained  until  half  past  one.  He 
said,  in  going  out,  to  the  crowd  which  was  in  the 
Oeil-de-Boeuf :  "Gentlemen,  I  have  just  induced 
the  king  to  make  painful  sacrifices.  His  majesty 
no  longer  has  any  guards  except  those  of  the  nation. 

is  He  has  permitted  me  to  occupy  the  chateau  with 
two  thousand  men.  I  am  going  out  to  take  measures 
for  the  general  security  and  to  send  back  the  rest 
of  the  troops  to  Paris."  In  fact,  the  chateau  was 
occupied  immediately,  sentinels  placed  everywhere; 

30  the  posts  of  the  body  guards  in  the  interior,  however, 
were  left,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Swiss,  who  had 
been  constantly  under  arms  without  ever  receiving 
orders,  without  ever  leaving  the  place  which  had 
been  assigned  them  behind  the  grating.     The  rest 

as  of  the  troops  of  Paris  had  been  lodged  by  battalions 
in  the  principal  houses.  The  women,  who  had 
taken  possession  of  the  assembly  hall,  remained 
there  all  night.  Everything  appeared  so  quiet 
their  majesties  retired  at  about  two  o'clock. 

239 


The  French  Revolution 

The  people  of  Versailles,  however,  and  a  part  of 
this  populace  which  had  come  with  the  women 
harbored  ill  will  against  the  body  guards.  It  was 
not  known  what  had  become  of  them,  as  they  re- 

5  mained  all  the  time  in  the  park.  Toward  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  part  of  them  decided  to  re- 
turn to  the  stables,  while  another,  preferring  a  re- 
treat in  the  open  country,  quit  Versailles  without 
knowing  any  too  clearly  where  they  were  going. 

io  The  people,  who  rummaged  everywhere  in  hunting 
for  them,  noted  their  return,  ran  to  the  stables. 
These  unhappy  beings  took  refuge  in  the  riding 
school,  where  they  defended  themselves  with  their 
carbines  and  wounded  some,  until,  not  being  able  to 

is  offer  resistance  to  numbers,  they  sought  to  escape 
through  the  park,  in  which  they  were  successful,  except 
ten  or  a  dozen  who  were  made  prisoners.  During 
this  time  a  part  of  the  people,  piqued  by  the  resistance 
in  the  riding  school,  filled  the  courts  of  the  chateau 

20  and  wanted  to  get  possession  of  those  in  the  apart- 
ments.    The  courts,  which  all  the  night  had  not  been 
completely  cleared,  were  all  at  once  filled,  without  any 
one  attributing  a  bad  intention  to  this  multitude. 
Day  began  to  break.     The  sentinel  on  duty  at  the 

25  foot  of  the  marble  staircase,  insulted  by  the  popu- 
lace, instead  of  calling  the  national  guard  to  his  aid, 
called  to  his  brigadier  to  come  to  him.  This  one, 
as  soon  as  he  saw  from  the  top  of  the  staircase  what 
was  going  on,  fired  his  carbine  and  killed  a  man. 

240 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

The  sentinel  did  the  same.  The  people  at  once 
seized  them  and  mounted  the  staircase  to  force  the 
apartments.  The  guards  of  the  interior  hardly  had 
time  to  barricade  the  doors.     Fortunately,  M.  de 

s  Lafayette,  awakened  by  the  firing  at  the  riding 
school,  hastened  to  the  place  with  what  Paris  troops 
he  could  get  together.  The  grenadiers  scattered  the 
people,  who  were  on  the  point  of  breaking  in  the 
doors  of  the  guard  room,  the  guards  having  abso- 

10  lutely  determined  not  to  open  them.  Having  made 
themselves  known  to  the  body  guard,  these  latter 
cried  from  the  inside:  " Swear  to  us  by  your  God 
that  you  will  defend  the  life  of  the  king."  "We 
swear  to  you  on  the  honor  of  a  grenadier  that  we  will 

is  all  perish  rather  than  let  anything  happen  to  the 
king."  The  doors  were  at  once  opened,  and  the 
grenadiers,  entering  in  a  crowd,  followed  by  the  en- 
tire national  guard  of  Paris  as  it  arrived,  surrounded 
the  body  guards  and  filled  the  gallery,  the  apart- 

20  ments,  penetrating  even  to  the  king's  bedchamber, 
where,  at  the  same  minute,  the  queen  arrived  out  of 
breath.  She  had  escaped  from  her  apartment,  into 
which,  at  the  time  of  the  invasion,  by  a  passage  ap- 
parently badly  guarded,  women  had  penetrated  who 

as  evidently  had  designs  upon  her.  The  Paris  troops, 
as  they  came  up,  filled  the  court  of  marble,  the  royal 
court,  and  the  people  were  obliged  to  fall  back  into 
the  court  of  the  ministers,  where  they  dragged  the 
two  unhappy  victims  seized  at  the  foot  of  the  stair- 

241 


The  French   Revolution 

case  and  executed  them,  the  one  on  the  steps  of  the 
Comte  de  Luzerne,  and  the  other  at  the  door  of  M. 
de  Saint-Priest.  Their  heads  were  carried  in  triumph 
through  all  the  streets  of  Versailles,  taken  then  to  Paris, 

s  and  promenaded  through  the  streets  of  the  capital. 
M.  de  Lafayette,  after  having  rendered  secure  the 
apartments  of  the  king,  descended  to  put  his  troops 
in  order,  found  in  the  marble  court,  under  the  bal- 
cony of  his  majesty,  the  ten  body  guards  whom  the 

io  national  guard  had  taken  from  the  people,  and  whom 
the  people  were  preparing  to  execute  under  the 
windows  of  the  king  for  having  fired  upon  the  citi- 
zens, as  they  said.  M.  de  Lafayette,  not  being  able 
by  any  means  to  obtain  their  pardon,  threw  his  hat 

15  on  the  ground,  and,  opening  his  coat,  said  to  his 
troops  that  he  did  not  care  to  command  cannibals, 
that  he  would  return  to  them  their  cockade,  their 
sword,  and  their  uniform ;  that  if  they  wished  to  take 
the  lives  of  these  unhappy  people,  they  could  take 

20  his  also.  This  firmness  saved  these  unfortunate  ones, 
and  it  was  decided  that  they  should  be  conducted 
prisoners  to  Paris.  M,  de  Lafayette,  going  up-stairs 
at  once,  induced  the  king  to  appear  with  the  queen 
and  the  dauphin  upon  the  balcony.     They  were 

25  applauded,  and  as  soon  as  his  majesty  had  retired, 
they  cried  to  him  to  come  to  Paris.  There  were  no 
ministers  with  the  king  at  the  time.  After  a  mo- 
ment's reflection:  "Very  well,  yes,"  he  said,  "I  will 
go  with  them."    And  at  once,  without  listening  to 

24a 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

anybody,  going  out  upon  the  balcony,  he  cried  to 
them :  "My  children,  I  am  going  to  live  in  the  midst 
of  you  with  my  wife  and  my  son,  but  I  am  going  to 
ask  you  as  a  proof  of  your  attachment  that  you  par- 

s  don  my  body  guards/'  At  once  they  appeared  at 
all  the  windows  of  the  apartments,  throwing  into  the 
court  their  cross-belts,  which  are  their  mark  of  ser- 
vice, and  M.  de  Lafayette,  appearing  with  one  of 
them  upon  the  king's  balcony,  embraced  him,  cry- 

10  ing:  "My  friends,  peace  is  made."  Those  who  were 
nearest  having  alone  been  able  to  hear  the  promise 
the  king  had  made  to  come  to  Paris,  the  others 
wished  to  be  assured  personally  of  the  intention  of 
his  majesty;  the  entire  troop  passing  successively  in 

is  disorder  under  this  same  balcony,  the  king  had  the 
kindness  to  repeat  his  words  through  MM.  de 
Lafayette  and  d'Estaing,  to  each  troop  which  passed, 
and  accompanied  them  with  gestures  of  assurance. 
At  once  there  was  a  general  salvo  of  all  the  cannon 

20  and  small  arms,  which  might  have  been  very  danger- 
ous, as  they  were  all  loaded  with  ball. 

A  guard  had  been  sent  from  Paris  to  relieve  the 
troops  at  Versailles  before  it  was  known  that  their 
majesties  would  go  to  Paris.     United  with  the  others, 

25  a  thousand  of  them  were  chosen  to  remain  to  guard 
the  chateau,  and  the  rest  began  to  defile  in  a  manner 
one  must  have  seen  in  order  to  have  any  idea  of  it; 
a  description  of  the  saturnalia  of  the  ancients  alone 
could  furnish  a  feeble  image  of  this  disorder.     Im- 

243 


The  French   Revolution 

agine  a  column  defiling,  almost  without  interrup- 
tion, from  noon  until  seven  in  the  evening,  in  which 
marched,  pell-mell,  troops,  blackguards,  all  the 
women  drunk — a  mixture  of  all  kinds  of  arms,  women 

5  astride  of  the  cannon,  others  bearing  the  flags,  the 
vilest  populace  by  the  side  of  the  most  distinguished 
officers.  You  could  see  women  wearing  the  bonnets 
of  grenadiers,  others  with  muskets  on  their  shoulders, 
and  soldiers  with  cudgels  in  their  hands.     Horses 

io  from  the  stables  of  the  king  and  monsieur  attached 
to  wagons  of  grain;  bread,  sausages  fixed  upon  the 
points  of  bayonets;  the  vilest  populace  mounted  on 
horses  taken  from  the  body  guard,  galloping  like 
mad;   others  armed  with  their  carbines  or  with  the 

15  halberds  of  the  Cent-Suisses ;  women  and  soldiers, 
half  drunk,  lying  in  indecent  postures  on  the 
wagons  of  grain,  while  the  carters  who  drove  them 
wore  themselves  and  had  decorated  their  horses 
with  the  cross-belts  of  the  body  guards  in  the  form 

20  of  collars. 

The  king  arrived  at  seven  at  the  barrier  of  the 
conference.  His  carriage  was  immediately  pre- 
ceded by  the  same  troop  with  as  little  choice.  The 
guards  of  the  provost  preceded  it,  mixed  with  armed 

25  women  surrounding  the  horse  of  M.  de  Tourzel,  the 
grand  provost ;  body  guards  on  foot,  confounded  with 
the  national  guard,  followed;  then  came  the  Cent- 
Suisses  of  the  guard  with  their  flags;  in  a  similar 
order  the  national  guard — mounted  on  horses  of  the 

244 


The  Insurrection  of  October   5   and  6,  1789 

body  guard,  while  some  guards  were  mounted  on 
theirs  and  others  rode  behind  the  cavaliers — were 
nearer  the  coach  of  their  majesties,  immediately 
preceded  by  M.  d'Estaing,  M.  de  Lafayette,  and  M. 

s  de  Montmorin,  cousin  of  the  minister,  second  major 
in  command  of  the  regiment  of  Flanders.  He  was 
surrounded  by  the  grenadiers  of  Paris,  of  Flanders, 
and  by  sergeants  of  different  corps,  by  women 
mounted  behind  and  before  in  the  guise  of  pages. 

io  The  heavy  artillery  followed  the  convoy.  The 
king,  the  queen,  the  dauphin,  madame,  daughter 
of  the  king,  Madame  Elizabeth  and  Madame  de 
Tourzel,  governesses,  were  in  the  same  carriage. 
M.  Bailly  presented  the  keys  of  the  city  to  the  king 

is  on  a  porcelain  plate,  the  silver  being  at  the  mint, 
and  made  to  him  the  inclosed  speech.  When  they 
arrived  at  the  city  hall,  M.  Bailly  gave  an  account 
of  what  the  king  said  to  him,  that  he  always  found 
himself  with  pleasure  in  the  midst  of  the  inhabitants 

20  of  his  good  city  of  Paris.  The  queen  then  said : 
"You  have  forgotten  that  he  added  to  that,  with 
confidence."  They  cried:  "Long  live  the  Queen!" 
"Gentlemen,"  replied  the  mayor,  "you  hear  it  from 
her  mouth;    you  are  more  fortunate  than  if  I  had 

25  told  it  to  you."  And  then:  "Long  live  M.  Bailly!" 
Their  majesties  then  went  to  pass  the  night  at  the 
Tuileries,  where,  by  the  way,  the  king  found  him- 
self for  the  first  time  in  his  life.  .  .  . 

At  the  moment  of  leaving  in  the  morning  [for 
"  245 


The  French   Revolution 

Versailles,  October  6th]  my  people  came  to  beg  me 
on  their  knees  not  to  depart.  The  valet  of  M.  de 
Saint-Priest  had  just  come  to  Paris  and  gave  me 
a  very  exaggerated  account  of  heads  cut  off,  the 

s  massacring  of  the  body  guards,  and  of  the  whole 
tumult,  to  which  we  were  commencing  to  become 
accustomed,  but  truly  frightful  to  a  cool-blooded 
man.  .  .  .  Obliged  to  move  slowly,  following  a  battal- 
ion of  three  hundred  men  of  the  national  guard,  who 

io  were  going  to  relieve  their  comrades  at  Versailles, 
I  saw  coming  toward  me  a  score  of  ragamuffins, 
preceded  by  a  man  with  a  long  beard,  behind  whom 
marched  two  others  carrying  bleeding  heads  at  the 
end  of  pikes.     The  sight  of  a  decorated  man  always 

is  exciting  the  rage  of  the  populace,  I  saw  them  ap- 
proach my  carriage  and  offer  me  in  the  guise  of  a 
bouquet  these  fruits  of  their  barbarism.  Fearing 
their  insults  if  I  appeared  to  refuse  this  presentation, 
I  lowered  the  window  on  their  side  and  by  means 

20  of  two  signs  of  approbation  of  the  head  these  exe- 
cutioners  appeared   to  be  well    satisfied  with  me, 
and  left  the  road  free  to  me  while  continuing  their 
route. 
7.  Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance,  144. 

as  The  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  king  and  the  royal 
family  was  known  in  Paris  long  before  noon.  All  the 
population  betook  itself  to  the  road  to  Versailles, 
in  spite  of  the  mud  and  the  rain,  to  greet  its  sover- 
eign the  sooner.     First  of  all  there  came  into  sight 

246 


The  Insurrection  of  October  5  and  6,  1789 

an  enormous  number  of  carts,  upon  which  lolled 
fish- wives  pell-mell  with  soldiers,  bearing  in  their 
hands  branches  of  trees  from  which  hung  tri-colored 
ribbons.     Discharges  of  musketry  were  heard  all 

s  along  the  road.  Then  came  many  wagons  loaded 
with  sacks  of  flour,  then  soldiers  on  horseback,  etc. 
The  king  arrived  in  person  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  The  streets  were  illuminated,  and  his 
march  was  similar  to  that  of  Friday,  July  17  [1789]. 

10  The  body  guard  marched  with  the  other  soldiers 
and  no  longer  wore  their  cross-belts;  many  had  on 
their  heads  the  bonnets  of  the  grenadiers ;  some  were 
on  horseback,  the  others  on  foot;  all  shouted, 
"Long  live  the  nation!"  and  brandished  their  swords 

15  and  their  hats  in  salutation.  They  would  have  been 
torn  in  pieces  if  the  king  had  not  required  them  to 
take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  nation.  There  were 
in  the  royal  coach  the  king,  the  queen,  the  dauphin, 
madame  (his  sister),  the  Count  and  the  Countess  of 

20  Provence.  Around  them  the  cry  was  raised:  "Here 
is  the  baker  and  the  baker's  wife  and  the  little  baker's 
boy!  We  shall  no  longer  lack  bread!"  The  mayor, 
who  had  gone  to  the  barrier  of  the  conference  to 
present  to  the  king  the  keys  of  the  city  of  Paris, 

as  marched  before  the  carriage  of  their  majesties.  The 
latter  having  gone  into  the  city  hall,  M.  Bailly 
spoke  to  the  members  of  the  commune  in  the  names 
of  the  royal  persons,  and  assured  them  that  the 
king  and  the  queen,  as  well  as  their  family,  came  to 

247 


The  French  Revolution 

put  themselves  in  the  hands  of  the  people  with  pleas- 
ure. "And  confidence,"  immediately  cried  out  the 
sovereigns.  "It  is  fortunate  I  forgot  this  word," 
added  the  mayor,  immediately,  "because,  coming 
s  from  the  mouth  of  the  king,  it  ought  to  be  still  more 
dear  to  his  subjects." 


PROBLEM    IV 

IV.— The  Flight  of  the  King,  June  20,  1791 


The  Flight  of  the   King 


A.    THE   HISTORIC    SETTING   OF   THE    PROBLEM 

IN  the  two  years  between  the  insurrection  of  October, 
1789,  and  the  flight  of  Louis  XVI.  in  June,  1791, 
lies  the  period  of  the  complete  transformation  of 
French  society,  of  its  economic,  political,  judicial,  and 
ecclesiastical  reorganization.  Poor  in  dramatic  epi- 
sodes— the  federation  of  July  14,  1790,  alone  comparing 
in  significance  with  the  events  of  June  20th  and  23d, 
July  14th,  August  4th,  and  October  5,  1789 — it  seems 
to  lack  unity,  and  does  not  appeal  at  once  to  the  im- 
agination. Although  Paris  holds  the  center  of  the 
stage  through  the  whole  period,  the  revolution  has  be- 
come a  French  affair,  the  theater  embracing  the  entire 
territory  of  France,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rhine, 
and  from  the  North  Sea  to  the  Pyrenees.  The  revolu- 
tion even  promises  to  become  a  European  affair,  and 
we  notice  from  time  to  time  the  European  actors  wait- 
ing at  the  wings  ready  to  make  their  entrance,  To  give 
a  vital  unity  to  thlTperiod,  to  trace  the  chronological 
development  of  this  unity  is  an  extremely  difficult 
task,  but  one  of  fundamental  importance.  For,  after 
all,  here  is  the  real  revolution;  the  realization  of  the 
desires  of  the  French  people  expressed  in  their  cahiers; 
the  execution  of  the  instructions  given  to  the  represen- 
tatives sent  to  Versailles;  the  culmination  of  nearly  a 
century  of  agitation  and  discussion. 

251 


The  French  Revolution 

What  legislative  body,  working  under  like  conditions, 
ever  made  a  larger,  more  permanent,  or  more  valuable 
contribution  to  the  reconstruction  of  a  society  than 
the  first  national  assembly  of  France?  And  it  was 
not  simply  a  paper  constitution  these  men  gave  to 
their  country.  In  fact  the  constitution  as  an  organized 
whole  did  not  exist  until  the  summer  of  179 1,  when  the 
decrees  of  which  it  consisted  were  already  in  force,  had 
already  created  working  institutions.  It  was  a  new 
France  across  which  Louis  XVI.  fled  in  the  summer  of 
1 79 1.  The  national  assembly  did  not  simply  destroy 
the  old  institutions,  the  institutions  of  an  outgrown 
social  organization;  it  actually  created  new  institutions 
in  the  last  two  years  of  its  existence.  To  understand 
the  period,  then,  is  to  know  when  and  how  the  assembly 
modified  or  destroyed  the  old  institutions,  when  and 
how  it  called  new  institutions  into  existence,  what  these 
new  institutions  were,  and,  finally,  how  these  legislative 
creations  became  vital,  active  institutions  on  the  soil 
of  France.  But  to  know  all  this  even  would  not  be 
to  know  the  period  fully.  The  destruction  of  the  old 
institutions  did  not  take  place  without  the  opposition 
of  the  classes  that  had  profited  by  them.  As  the  re- 
construction went  on,  as  it  advanced  from  legislative 
acts  to  the  application  of  legislative  acts,  as  group  after 
group  suffered  from  the  labors  of  readjustment,  the 
opposition  grew  more  marked,  more  serious,  and  the 
different  groups  were  more  inclined  to  make  common 
cause,  to  form  two  great  hostile  groups,  the  friends  and 
the  foes  of  the  revolution.  France  armed  itself  that 
the  national  assembly  might  live  and  do  its  work;  it 
remained  armed  to  defend  the  new  France  against  the 
old.  This  struggle  between  the  old  and  the  new, 
gradually  producing  a  situation  which  led  first  to  civil 

252 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

and  later  to  foreign  war,  must  be  given  adequate  treat- 
ment if  the  period  as  a  whole  is  to  be  rendered  intel- 
ligible. 

The  two  most  important  economic  events  of  the 
revolution  were  the  destruction  of  feudal  rights  and  the 
confiscation  and  sale  of  the  property  of  the  church. 
The  abolition  of  feudal  rights,  the  work  of  the  armed 
peasants  of  France,  legalized  by  the  national  assembly 
on  the  night  of  August  4,  1789,  fell  in  the  period  before 
October,  1789,  but  the  execution  of  the  decree  of  the 
assembly,  the  determination  of  what  feudal  rights  were 
property  rights  and  must  be  purchased,  what  were  per- 
sonal and  must  be  abolished  without  compensation,  the 
problem  of  forcing  the  payment  of  feudal  dues  until 
a  settlement  had  been  made — all  these  matters  fell 
within  the  two  years  we  are  dealing  with.  A  com- 
mittee on  feudal  rights  attempted  to  bring  order  out 
of  chaos,  to  separate  things  that  were  inseparable,  and 
the  assembly  passed  laws  recommended  by  the  com- 
mittee, but  nothing  was  settled.  The  feudal  dues  were 
not  paid,  even  when  they  were  property  rights,  and 
not  a  small  part  of  the  disturbances  in  different  parts 
of  France  during  these  two  years  was  due  to  the  strife 
over  feudal  dues,  the  attempts  of  the  owners  of  feudal 
rights  either  to  collect  them  or  to  obtain  compensation. 

The  seizure  of  the  property  of  the  church  was  the 
work  of  the  assembly,  and  due  to  the  financial  distress 
of  the  government,  the  immediate  cause  for  the  con- 
vocation of  the  states  general.  The  assembly  had  been 
called  by  the  government  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
increase  the  governmental  revenues  by  submitting  all 
classes  to  taxation.  The  representatives,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  instructions  to  grant  no  financial  aid  to  the 
government   until   the   constitution   had   been   made. 

253 


The  French  Revolution 

"The  blessed  deficit"  was  regarded  as  the  most  power- 
ful ally  of  the  revolution.  To  abide  literally  by  these 
instructions  in  the  summer  of  1789  was  not  practicable, 
nor  did  it  seem  necessary  after  the  revolution  of  July. 
The  treasury  was  in  distress,  and  the  assembly  per- 
mitted Necker  to  make  two  loans  in  August,  neither  of 
which  was  fully  taken.  As  the  distress  increased  and 
heroic  measures  became  necessary,  Necker  was  allowed 
to  levy  a  tax  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  upon  net  revenues. 
When  this  also  was  unsuccessful  the  assembly  resorted 
to  a  measure  that  had  been  suggested  several  times  al- 
ready but  had  not  been  seriously  considered;  it  was 
nothing  less  than  the  confiscation  of  the  buildings  and 
lands  of  the  church  and  the  sale  of  these  to  pay  the 
debts  of  the  state.  The  measure  was  proposed  in  Oc- 
tober, 1789,  and  became  a  law  November  2,  1789.  It 
"placed  the  property  of  the  church  at  the  disposition 
of  the  state";  in  other  words,  the  state  did  not  at  once 
take  possession  of  the  property.  Other  decrees,  the 
natural  consequence  of  this  one,  were  passed  in  the  last 
month  of  1789  and  the  first  months  of  1790.  A  paper 
money,  drawing  interest  and  secured  by  the  property  of 
the  church,  was  created  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred 
million  francs;  property  of  the  church  to  the  same 
amount  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  municipal  gov- 
ernments for  sale,  the  national  government  agreeing  to 
receive  its  own  paper  in  payment  for  the  property; 
decrees  providing  for  the  care  of  the  debts  of  the  clergy 
and  freeing  the  lands  from  all  feudal  dues  were  passed, 
thus  rendering  the  titles  to  the  property  unencumbered, 
and  purchasers  appeared  in  large  numbers.  The  financial 
question  was  temporarily  settled,  and  the  revolution 
struck  root  in  the  soil  of  France,  being  assured  of  the 
support  of  the  purchasers  of  the  church  lands.     The 

254 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

clergy,  deprived  of  the  revenues  from  their  great  prop- 
erties, as  they  had  previously  been  stripped  of  their 
tithes,  were  made  financially  dependent  upon  the  state, 
a  body  of  public  servants  without  political  indepen- 
dence. Here  is  found,  probably,  the  chief  cause  of  the 
hostility  of  the  upper  orders  in  the  church — the  church 
aristocracy — to  the  revolution. 

The  judicial  reforms,  proposed  in  the  fall  of  1789, 
passed  by  the  assembly  and  put  into  effect  in  the  fall 
of  1790,  swept  away  the  old  courts  with  their  privileges 
and  abuses  and  substituted  for  them  a  system  of  courts 
extending  from  the  court  of  the  justice  of  the  peace  to 
the  supreme  courts  of  the  districts,  presided  over  by 
judges  elected  by  the  people  and  administering  justice 
gratuitously.  The  old  parliaments  were  suspended  in 
the  fall  of  1789  and  abolished  in  the  summer  of  1790. 
Some  of  them  protested  against  their  suspension,  but 
the  summary  treatment  they  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  assembly,  convincing  them  that  a  new  day  had 
dawned,  put  an  end  to  their  open  opposition. 

The  political  decrees  passed  by  the  assembly  in  No- 
vember and  December,  1789,  and  put  in  effect  in  1790, 
were  no  less  revolutionary  than  the  economic  measures 
just  described.  The  foundations  of  the  constitution — 
the  limitation  of  the  king's  power,  the  creation  of  a 
single  representative  assembly,  meeting  annually,  and 
the  establishment  of  ministerial  responsibility — had 
been  laid  in  September.  In  November  the  assembly 
passed  a  law  excluding  its  members  from  the  ministry, 
thus  rendering  impossible  a  ministry  supported  by  the 
majority  of  the  assembly  and  capable  of  forming  and 
executing  a  governmental  program.  In  December  it 
passed  laws  creating  municipalities,  departments,  and 
districts,   administered  by  representatives  elected  by 

255 


The  French  Revolution 

the  people.  All  the  administrative  bodies  of  the  ancien 
regime,  composed  of  officials  who  had  purchased  their 
offices  from  the  government  or  owed  them  to  royal 
appointment,  disappeared  in  the  summer  of  1790  when 
these  new  administrative  bodies  came  into  existence. 
In  the  fall  of  1790  there  were  no  more  provinces,  no 
more  provincial  assemblies,  only  eighty-three  depart- 
ments administering  their  own  affairs. 

The  closing  of  the  monasteries  and  the  reorganization 
of  the  church  were  the  natural  consequences  of  the 
economic  legislation  already  mentioned.  A  large  part 
of  the  church  property  was  in  the  hands  of  the  monastic 
orders.  The  assembly  passed  decrees  forbidding  the 
taking  of  permanent  monastic  vows,  closing  up  many 
of  the  houses,  and  providing  the  monks  and  nuns  with 
a  living  pension  if  they  wished  to  leave  the  monastery 
or  convent.  At  a  later  period  in  the  revolution  all  the 
orders  were  abolished.  In  the  period  of  the  constituent 
assembly  a  distinction  was  made  between  the  orders 
engaged  in  teaching,  nursing,  and  industrial  pursuits, 
and  those  made  up  of  members  who  passed  their  lives 
in  retirement;  the  former,  as  engaged  in  social  activi- 
ties, were  treated  with  consideration  and  allowed  to  con- 
tinue their  work.  The  abolition  of  church  revenues  and 
the  formation  of  departments  made  it  necessary  for  the 
assembly  to  adapt  the  organization  of  the  church  to  the 
new  social  framework,  to  realize  the  reforms  called  for  by 
the  cahiers,  and  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  clergy. 
A  committee  had  been  chosen  in  the  fall  of  1789,  and 
after  a  report  made  by  this  committee  and  discussed  by 
the  assembly,  the  "civil  constitution  of  the  clergy"  be- 
came a  law  on  July  12,  1790.  The  new  dioceses  were 
formed  corresponding  to  the  limits  of  the  departments. 
At  the  head  of  each  diocese  was  a  bishop,  and  under  him 

256 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

were  curates.  Both  were  elected;  the  bishops  by  the 
electors  who  chose  the  members  of  the  departmental 
organizations,  the  curates  by  the  electors  for  the  district. 
There  were  ten  metropolitan  districts  in  France,  presided 
over  by  metropolitan  bishops.  The  salaries  of  the  bish- 
ops in  many  cases  were  largely  decreased,  those  of  the 
curates  increased.  Provision  was  made  for  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  parishes.  All  this  was  done  without 
consultation  with  the  pope,  and  no  place  was  left  for  the 
interference  of  papal  authority  in  what  was  clearly  the 
constitution  of  a  national  church.  It  was  provided  that 
each  bishop  and  curate  should  take  an  oath  "in  the 
presence  of  the  municipal  officers,  the  people,  and  the 
clergy  to  guard  with  care  the  faithful  of  his  diocese  who 
were  confided  to  him,  to  be  loyal  to  the  nation,  the  law, 
and  the  king,  and  to  support  with  all  his  power  the  con- 
stitution decreed  by  the  national  assembly  and  accepted 
by  the  king."  If  they  failed  to  do  this,  the  bishopric  or 
curacy  "would  be  looked  upon  as  vacant."  The  king 
did  not  make  public  the  civil  constitution  until  August 
26,  1790.  When  it  became  clear  that  a  large  majority  of 
the  higher  clergy  would  not  conform  to  the  requirements 
of  the  new  system  unless  it  were  approved  by  the  pope, 
the  assembly  passed  a  decree  ordering  the  clergy  to  take 
the  prescribed  oath.  This  decree  was  also  sanctioned  by 
the  king,  although  very  unwillingly,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1 791  the  clergy  were  forced  to  choose  between  taking  the 
oath  and  resignation.  When  they  refused  to  take  the 
oath — almost  all  the  archbishops  and  bishops  refused, 
but  the  majority  of  the  curates  took  it — the  electors  were 
called  together  and  elected  their  successors.  The  recal- 
citrant bishops  and  curates  refused  to  recognize  their 
successors,  and  the  church  of  France  was  torn  by  a  schism 
which  was  to  develop  into  civil  war. 

257 


The  French  Revolution 

To  trace  the  course  of  the  opposition  to  the  revolution 
and  that  of  the  supporters  of  it  during  the  two  years  from 
October,  1789,  to  June,  1791,  is  a  much  more  difficult 
task  than  the  description  of  the  work  of  reorganization 
during  this  period.  The  most  striking  manifestation  of 
the  existence  of  a  new  France  and  of  a  determination  to 
defend  it  against  all  comers  is  found  in  the  series  of 
federations  beginning  in  the  fall  of  1789  and  culminating 
on  July  14,  1790,  in  the  spectacular  demonstration  on  the 
Champ  de  Mars.  The  significance  of  this  event  cannot 
be  understood  until  it  is  viewed  as  the  last  of  a  series  of 
federations,  originating  independently  of  Paris  and  the 
assembly,  celebrated  now  in  the  east,  now  in  the  south, 
and  now  in  the  west  of  France,  increasing  in  size  and  im- 
portance with  each  repetition,  and  finally  sweeping  in 
upon  the  capital  in  a  great  wave  of  national  enthusiasm. 
The  federations  had  two  features  in  common:  the  mem- 
bers were  delegates  of  the  national  guards  from  the  region 
represented;  they  gathered  around  an  altar  and  took  an 
oath  to  defend  the  constitution  and  the  work  of  the  na- 
tional assembly.  The  oath  was  taken  on  July  14th  by  a 
vast  assemblage  of  several  hundred  thousand  composed  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Paris  and  of  armed  delegates  from  all 
parts  of  France.  "We  swear,"  it  ran,  "to  be  forever 
faithful  to  the  nation,  to  the  law,  and  to  the  king;  to 
maintain  with  all  our  might  the  constitution  decreed  by 
the  national  assembly  and  accepted  by  the  king;  to  pro- 
tect, in  conformity  with  the  laws,  the  security  of  persons 
and  property,  the  free  circulation  of  grain  and  food  in 
the  interior  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  collection  of  public 
contributions,  under  whatever  form  they  may  exist;  to 
remain  united  to  all  Frenchmen  by  the  indissoluble  bonds 
of  fraternity."  At  a  signal  given  by  a  tricolored  flame 
all,  raising  their  hands,  cried,  "We  swear  it."    As  with 

258 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

faces  turned  toward  the  altar  of  the  country,  erected  in 
the  center  of  the  great  plain,  and  with  hands  raised  to 
heaven  the  multitude  took  this  solemn  oath,  it  was  not 
simply  the  new  France  crying  defiance  at  the  old,  it  was 
the  outward  expression  of  French  unity,  of  the  culmina- 
tion of  more  than  a  thousand  years  of  history.  The  sig- 
nificance of  the  act  is  heightened  when  it  is  remembered 
that  at  the  same  hour,  through  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land,  the  same  oath  was  being  taken.  "0  age! 
O  memory!"  exclaimed  an  enthusiastic  witness  of  the 
federation,  "we  have  heard  this  sublime  oath  which  will 
be  soon,  we  hope,  the  oath  of  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 
Twenty-five  millions  of  peoples  have  repeated  it  at  the 
same  hour  in  all  the  parts  of  this  empire.  The  echoes  of 
the  Alps,  of  the  Pyrenees,  of  the  vast  caverns  of  the 
Rhine  and  the  Meuse  have  repeated  it  afar;  they  will 
transmit  it  without  doubt  to  the  most  remote  limits  of 
Europe  and  Asia." 

Unfortunately  for  France,  the  oath  found  no  friendly 
echoes  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  had  been  stripped  of 
honor,  privilege,  power,  or  wealth  by  the  revolution.  To 
them  the  revolution  meant  disaster  and  must  be  resisted 
by  every  means.  In  this  resistance  there  was  no  common 
purpose  and  no  unity  of  plan.  The  parliaments  pro- 
tested, and  were  severely  reprimanded  by  the  assembly; 
the  minority  of  the  clergy  and  the  nobility  in  the  assembly 
harassed  and  hampered  its  action,  but  only  irritated  the 
majority,  and  were  responsible  for  more  radical  action 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  taken;  protests  against 
the  decrees  of  the  assembly,  printed  and  circulated  about 
the  country,  simply  helped  to  widen  the  breach  between 
the  parties,  but  did  not  check  the  revolution  nor  render 
it  more  conservative;  the  attempt  of  Mounier,  after 
abandoning   Paris  in   October,   to  raise  the   Dauphine* 

259 


The  French  Revolution 

against  the  assembly  was  wrecked  on  a  decree  of  the 
assembly;  the  emigres  on  the  frontiers  were  noisy  but 
harmless;  a  threatened  revolt  of  the  east  of  France  and 
an  invasion  from  Piedmont  came  to  naught;  the  armed 
camp  of  Jales,  that  for  a  short  time  took  on  serious  pro- 
portions and  threatened  to  light  up  a  religious  war,  van- 
ished after  a  brief  and  ineffective  existence.  The  most 
dangerous  and  the  most  effective  opposition  was  to  come 
from  the  members  of  the  clergy,  who  remained  in  their 
dioceses  and  parishes,  refused  to  take  the  oath,  and  stirred 
up  their  parishioners  against  the  revolution,  declaring  it 
was  a  revolt  against  religion. 

It  was  the  clash  between  the  revolution  and  the  church 
which  influenced  Louis  XVI.  the  most  profoundly.  Had 
it  been  possible  to  reconcile  the  church  to  the  changes, 
the  whole  history  of  the  revolution  would  have  been  dif- 
ferent. That  such  a  reconciliation  did  not  take  place 
was  due  to  Pius  VI.  In  the  spring  of  1790  he  secretly 
denounced  the  acts  of  the  assembly,  but  did  not  make  his 
declaration  public.  He  did  not  even  pronounce  publicly 
against  the  civil  constitution,  but  threw  the  responsibility 
for  action  upon  Louis  XVI.  and  his  advisers.  It  was  not 
until  Avignon  had  been  lost  to  him,  until  nothing  more 
could  be  gained  from  the  assembly  by  withholding  his 
condemnation  of  its  work,  that  the  pope  finally  declared 
himself  publicly  in  a  brief  of  March  10,  1791.  He  passed 
in  review  the  civil,  political,  and  religious  work  of  the 
constituent  assembly,  condemning  it  in  its  entirety. 
"The  end  of  the  assembly,"  he  affirmed,  "was  to  destroy 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  with  it  the  obedience  due  to 
kings.  The  proof  of  it  was  that  all  its  decrees  were  in- 
spired by  that  sacrilegious  declaration  of  the  rights  of 
man  which  proclaimed  these  monstrosities:  freedom  of 
thought  and  of  the  press,  the  equality  of  all  men.     These 

260 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

pretended  imprescriptible  rights  are  so  many  revolts 
against  the  authority  of  the  Creator,  and  the  assembly  in 
proclaiming  them  renewed  the  heresies  of  the  Vaudois, 
the  Bdgards,  of  Wyclif  and  Luther.  The  so  much  vaunted 
liberty  and  equality  are  only  a  means  of  overthrowing 
Catholicism."  It  was  a  declaration  of  war  upon  the 
revolution. 

Long  before  the  appearance  of  this  brief  Louis  XVI. 
had  decided  not  to  accept  the  revolution,  not  to  remain 
a  constitutional  king  of  France.  It  is  true  that  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1790,  he  had  appeared  before  the  assembly,  had 
publicly  sworn  to  "defend  and  maintain  constitutional 
liberty,"  and  "in  concert  with  the  queen  ...  to  prepare, 
at  an  early  hour,  the  mind  and  heart  of  his  son  for  the 
new  order  of  things,  which  circumstances  have  brought 
about."  On  the  Champ  de  Mars,  before  the  assembled 
people,  he  had  taken  the  oath  of  the  federation.  But 
the  civil  constitution,  the  decree  of  November  27,  1790, 
requiring  the  clergy  to  take  the  oath,  the  schism  in  the 
church,  the  secret  condemnation  of  the  pope — all  this  had 
affected  him  more  than  the  encroachment  upon  his  polit- 
ical rights.  He  was  profoundly  pious.  He  determined 
to  escape  from  Paris,  to  take  refuge  in  the  midst  of  loyal 
troops  on  the  eastern  frontier  and  within  reach  of  Austrian 
assistance,  for  Marie  Antoinette  had  been  promised  aid  by 
her  brother  when  she  had  escaped  to  the  frontier.  The 
preparation  of  the  plans  began  in  the  fall  of  1790,  and 
were  completed  in  June,  1791.  Bouille  was  in  charge  of 
the  troops,  and  Montm^dy  the  objective  point.  De- 
tachments of  troops  were  to  be  placed  along  the  route  to 
be  followed  from  Chalons  to  Montmedy.  At  Varennes, 
through  which  the  fugitives  were  to  pass,  there  was  no 
post-house  and  horses  must  be  sent  in  advance  and  left 
at  the  entrance  to  town,  that  the  changes  might  be  made 

18  261 


The  French  Revolution 

before  entering  Varennes.  A  commodious  and  luxurious 
traveling  carriage  was  built,  passports  were  obtained,  and 
after  a  final  postponement  the  royal  family  actually  set 
out  on  the  night  of  June  20th,  aided  in  their  final  arrange- 
ments by  the  young  Swedish  officer  the  Comte  de  Fersen, 
whom  contemporary  scandal  described  as  a  lover  of  the 
queen. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  the  historian  has  always 
regarded  the  flight  of  the  king  as  one  of  the  critical  events 
of  the  revolution.  His  escape  would  have  meant  civil 
and  foreign  war.  He  was  brought  back  to  Paris  a  dis- 
credited, a  perjured  monarch.  Deprived  of  his  power, 
placed  under  guard  in  the  Tuileries,  he  was  for  nearly 
three  months  a  silent  spectator  of  the  activities  of  the  first 
French  republic.  It  was  but  natural  that  the  idea  of  sub- 
stituting a  republic  for  the  monarchy  should  have  been 
publicly  advocated  at  this  time.  Could  a  constitutional 
monarchy  with  Louis  XVI.  on  the  throne  ever  be  success- 
ful? Would  he  ever  act  in  good  faith?  Could  he  again 
be  trusted?  These  were  the  questions  raised  by  his 
flight,  and  upon  the  answer  to  them  rested  the  fate  of  the 
great  work  of  the  national  assembly. 

B.    CRITICAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

i.  Proces-verbal  de  Vassemblee  nationale.  See  critical 
bibliography  for  Problem  I.  The  Proces-verbal  for  June 
21,  1 79 1,  bears  no  number.  It  is  inserted  between  Nos. 
686  and  687,  the  latter  number  being  the  Proces-verbal 
for  June  27th.  The  Proces-verbal  for  June  21st  appeared 
in  three  parts  of  21,  24,  and  24  pages  each.  The  first 
part  had  a  title  page  with  the  title,  "Proces-verbal  de 
Vassemblee  nationale,  du  mardi,  21  Juin  1791.  A  Paris, 
de   Vimprimerie   nationale,  1791"  and  in  the  center  of 

262 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

the  page  the  seal  with  the  words,  "  Assemble  nationale. 
La  lot  et  le  roi,  1789"  The  second  and  third  parts  had 
no  title  page,  simply  a  heading  with  the  words,  "Ire  suite 
du  proces-verbal  de  la  seance  permanente"  "lime  suite," 
etc.  The  Proces-verbal  for  June  26th  was  the  "IOme  et 
derniere  suite"  etc. 

2.  Rapport  du  sieur  Drouet  in  Relation  du  depart  de 
Louis  XVI.,  par  le  Due  de  Choiseul,  139.  Paris,  1822. 
This  is  a  reprint  of  the  statement  made  by  Drouet  on 
June  24th  before  the  general  council  of  the  commune  of 
Paris  and  dictated  by  him  in  the  office  of  the  Journal  des 
Clubs.  A  somewhat  different  account  is  given  in  the 
Proces-verbal  of  the  national  assembly,  before  which 
Drouet  made  a  statement  on  the  same  day. 

3.  Extraits  du  registre  des  deliberations  de  la  commune 
de  la  ville  de  Varennes,  June  23,  1791,  in  Bimbenet,  Fuite 
de  Louis  XVI.,  203.     Deuxieme  edition.     Paris  (n.d.). 

4.  Examination  of  Maldent  in  the  Abbey  prison,  July 
7,  1791,  in  Bimbenet,  La  Fuite  de  Louis  XVI.,  92.  On 
his  return  to  Paris,  after  his  arrest  at  Varennes,  Mal- 
dent, one  of  the  body  guards,  was  thrown  into  prison  and 
examined  there  on  July  7th,  in  accordance  with  a  decree 
of  the  national  assembly  dated  June  26,  1791.  Bim- 
benet reproduced  the  examination  from  the  original 
record. 

5.  Lettre  de  la  municipality  de  Sainte-Menehould  aM.le 
president  de  Vassemblee  nationale,  le  21  Juin,  1791,  in 
Ancelon,  La  veriU  sur  la  fuite  et  Varrestation  de  Louis  XVI. 
a  Varennes,  188.     Paris,  1866. 

6.  Proces-verbal  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  com- 
mune of  Varennes,  June  27,  1791,  in  Bimbenet,  La  fuite 
de  Louis  XVI.  a  Varennes,  193. 

7.  Tourzel,  Madame  la  duchesse  de,  Memoires,  2  vols., 
Paris,  1883.     Madame  de  Tourzel  was  the  governess  of 

263 


The  French  Revolution 

the  royal  children,  and  accompanied  the  royal  family  on 
their  flight.  She  was  born  in  1749,  and  died  in  1832. 
Her  Memoir es  were  written  after  1797,  as  she  refers  (I,  302, 
note)  to  the  Memoires  of  the  Marquis  de  Bouille'  published 
in  that  year.  They  were  probably  written  some  time 
later. 

8.  Relation  du  voyage  de  Varennes,  adressee  par  un  pre- 
lat,  membre  de  Vassemblee  constituante,  a  un  ministre  en 
pays  etranger,  in  Weber,  Memoires,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1822. 
The  writer  was  probably  the  Archbishop  of  Toulouse, 
M.  de  Fontanges.  The  account  was  written  after  1797, 
as  the  Memoires  of  Bouille\  published  on  that  date,  are 
mentioned  (I,  76).  Concerning  the  sources  of  his  in- 
formation the  writer  says:  "I  have  simply  the  intention 
of  retracing  for  you  faithfully  and  without  partiality 
what  has  remained  graven  upon  my  memory  of  conversa- 
tions I  have  had  with  the  queen  herself,  later  with  M.  de 
Bouill£,  and  with  other  persons  who  appeared  to  me  very 
well  informed  concerning  all  the  details  of  this  event." 


C    QUESTIONS   FOR  STUDY 

1.  Which  of  these  sources   contain  the  testimony  of  eye- 

witnesses? 

2.  Is  any  account  made  up  entirely  of  what  the  witness  saw 

or  heard? 

3.  What  is  the  value  of  the  account  of  M.  de  Fontanges? 

4.  How  does  it  compare  in  value  with  the  Memoires  of  Madame 

de  Tourzel? 

5.  In  what  respect  are  the  examination  of  Maldent,  the  state- 

ment of  Drouet,  the  extract  from  the  Proces-verbal  of 
the  council  of  Sainte-Menehould,  and  the  letter  of  the 
commune  of  Varennes  more  valuable  than  the  Memoires 
of  Madame  de  Tourzel? 

6.  In  what  respect  would  the  value  of  these  sources  be  affected 

264 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

by  their  character — that  is,  by  the  fact  that  Maldent's 
statement  was  forced  from  him  in  court,  that  Drouet  was 
recounting  his  deeds  before  a  public  assembly,  etc.? 

7.  Are  any  of  these  sources  dependent? 

8.  Establish  the  facts  relating  to  the  escape  from  Paris:    (1) 

When  did  it  take  place,  day  and  hour?  (2)  Who  were 
the  members  of  the  royal  party?  (3)  Who  assisted 
them  in  their  escape  from  Paris?  (4)  How  did  the 
royal  family  escape  unnoticed  from  the  chateau? 
(5)  Describe  the  incidents  connected  with  the  passage 
from  the  chateau  to  the  fiacre.  (6)  What  do  you 
know  of  the  passage  from  the  Carrousel  to  the  bar- 
rier? (7)  What  happened  outside  the  barrier?  (8) 
Give  an  account  of  the  flight  to  the  first  relay  station. 

(9)  How  much  of  what  you  have  stated  is  certainty? 

(10)  What  would  you  like  to  know  that  cannot  be 
answered  by  the  evidence? 

9.  Give  an  account  of  the  action  of  the  assembly  on  June  21st 

and  explain  the  significance  of  each  decree. 

10.  What  kind  of  a  government  existed  in  France  on  the  even- 

ing of  June  2 1  st? 

11.  To  obtain  this  form  of  government,  how  many  changes  did 

the  assembly  make? 

12.  Why  did  the  French  people  wish  to  prevent  the  escape  of 

the  king? 

13.  Describe  the  flight  up  to  Varennes:   (1)  Did  the  presence  of 

troops  help  or  hinder  the  flight?  (2)  Up  to  Sainte- 
Menehould  had  anything  happened  to  make  the  out- 
come uncertain?  (3)  What  happened  of  a  critical 
nature  at  Sainte-Menehould?  (4)  Was  success  impos- 
sible after  Sainte-Menehould? 

14.  Describe  the  events  in  Varennes:     (1)  Why  was  the  passage 

through  Varennes  of  so  much  importance?  (2)  Who 
was  responsible  for  the  failure  of  the  flight?  (3)  Who 
stopped  the  king's  carriage  at  Varennes?  (4)  Did  the 
town  government  of  Sainte-Menehould  send  Drouet  to 
Varennes?  (5)  At  what  time  was  the  king  arrested  at 
265 


The  French  Revolution 

Varennes?  (6)  Why  was  such  a  large  body  of  militia 
summoned  to  Varennes?  (7)  At  what  time  did  the 
king  leave  Varennes  for  Paris?  (8)  Why  did  he  not 
start  earlier?  (9)  Why  did  the  king  leave  Paris? 
(10)  What  did  he  intend  to  do? 
15.  Establish  the  facts,  make  an  outline,  and  write  a  narrative 
dealing  with  "The  Flight  of  the  King,  June  20,  1791." 


D.  The  Sources 

i.  Procds-verbal  de  VassembUe  nationale,   Tuesday, 
June  21,  1 791. 
The  president,  having  arrived,  said  that  the  mayor 
of  Paris  had  just  informed  him  of  the  departure  of 

s  the  king,  and  that  the  assembly  would,  without 
doubt,  wish  to  take  some  action  and  give  some  orders 
in  a  conjuncture  so  unforeseen  and  so  important. 
[After  several  motions  had  been  made  and  discussed] 
the  national  assembly  decreed: 

10  "That  the  minister  of  the  interior  should  expedite 
couriers  at  once  into  all  the  departments  with  an 
order  to  all  public  functionaries,  national  guards,  and 
troops  of  the  line,  to  arrest  or  have  arrested  all  per- 
sons whomsoever  leaving  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  to 

is  prevent  all  exportation  of  effects,  arms,  munitions, 
specie  in  gold  or  silver,  carriages  and  horses;  and  in 
the  case  in  which  the  said  couriers  should  overtake 
any  individuals  of  the  royal  family,  and  those  who 
may  have  aided  in  their  abduction,  the  said  public 

20  functionaries  or  national  guards  and  troops  of  the 
line  are  required  to  take  all  measures  necessary  to 
check  the  effects  of  said  abduction  by  opposing  the 

267 


The  French  Revolution 

prosecution  of  the  journey,  and  to  give  an  account 
of  everything  to  the  national  assembly." 

A  member  asked  that  the  place  of  the  sessions  of 
the  assembly  be  carefully  guarded,   and  that   no 

s  stranger  be  allowed  to  enter  there.  The  national 
assembly  adopted  this  proposition.  It  was  there- 
upon proposed  and  decreed  to  order  the  minister  of 
war  to  have  M.  de  Rochambeau  depart  at  once  with 
the  necessary  orders  to  have  put  in  a  state  of  defense 

io  the  frontiers  of  the  departments  in  which  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops  of  the  line  is  intrusted  to  him. 
The  president  announced  that  the  ministers  were 
going  to  come  to  the  assembly.     The  minister  of 
justice  was  introduced  first.  .  .  .  [The  aide  de  camp 

is  of  Lafayette,  sent  with  a  companion  to  follow  the 
king,  came  to  the  assembly  to  announce  that  they 
had  been  arrested  by  the  people.  Two  members 
of  the  assembly  were  named  as  commissioners]  to 
secure  for  these  aides  de  camp  full  liberty  to  execute 

20  their  orders.  A  member  having  announced  that 
M.  de  Lafayette  had  been  arrested  by  the  people  in 
front  of  the  city  hall,  the  president  was  authorized 
to  name  six  commissioners  to  call  to  the  assembly 
the  mayor  of  Paris  and  the  commandant  of  the 

as  national  guard.  .  .  .  The  minister  of  finance  was  in- 
troduced into  the  assembly.  .  .  . 

"The  national  assembly  declares  to  the  citizens 
of  Paris  and  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  empire 
that  the  same  firmness  which  it  has  shown  in  the 

268 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

midst  of  all  the  difficulties  which  have  accompanied 
its  labors  is  going  to  direct  its  deliberations  on  the 
occasion  of  the  abduction  of  the  king  and  a  part  of 
the  royal  family; 
s  "That  it  has  taken  the  most  effective  steps  to  fol- 
low the  traces  of  those  who  were  culpable  of  this 
crime; 

"That  without  any  interruption  in  its  sessions  it 
is  going  to  employ  all  possible  means  that  public 
io  affairs  may  not  suffer  from  this  event ; 

"That  all  citizens  ought  to  have  full  confidence 
that  it  would  take  such  measures  as  the  public  wel- 
fare demanded;  that  it  warned  them  that  the  public 
welfare  never  demanded  more  imperiously  the  con- 
is  servation  of  order;  and  that  whatever  might  excite 
trouble,  injure  persons,  or  menace  property  would  be 
so  much  the  more  culpable,  as  thereby  both  liberty 
and  the  constitution  would  be  compromised. 

"It  orders  that  citizens  hold  themselves  ready  to 
20  maintain  public  order  and  defend  the  country  ac- 
cording to  the  orders  that  shall  be  given  to  them  by 
the  national  assembly. 

"It   orders   administrators   of   departments   and 
municipal  officers  throughout  the  entire  kingdom  to 
as  have  the  present  decree  published  at  once  and  to 
look  carefully  after  public  peace." 

The  minister  of  marine  was  introduced  into  the 
assembly.  .  .  . 

"The  national  assembly,  wishing  to  prevent  the 
269 


The  French  Revolution 

evils  which  might  result  from  expediting  into  the 
departments  and  districts  of  decrees,  opinions,  and 
other  matters  which  might  be  circulated  there  in 
the  name  of  the  assembly,  declares  that  the  only 

s  authentic  seal  of  its  decrees  and  expeditions  is  that 
one  applied  to  the  decree  which  bears  the  words, 
The  Law  and  the  King.  National  Assembly,  1789, 
and  the  seal  of  its  archives  for  packages  delivered 
there,  bearing  the  words,  The  Nation,  the  Law,  and 

10  the  King.  National  Archives;  it  instructs  adminis- 
trative assemblies  and  public  functionaries  to  exer- 
cise the  most  careful  supervision  over  copies  of  the 
decrees  which  may  be  circulated  among  the  people 
in  order  to  be  sure  of  the  authenticity  of  them  as 

is  well  as  of  the  correctness  of  the  signatures  and  the 
seals;  and  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  the  seal  bearing 
the  words,  National  Assembly  1789,  The  Law  and  the 
King,  it  decrees  that  all  the  seals  bearing  only  these 
words  shall  be  deposited  in  one  place  through  the 

20  care  of  the  archivist  and  intrusted  to  commissioners 
who  shall  watch  over  the  application  of  the  seal  to 
the  decrees.  ..." 

The  minister  of  the  interior  was  introduced  into 
the  assembly.  .  .  .  Upon  a  motion  made  and  seconded 

as  by  several  members  the  assembly  decreed  that  the 
ministers  should  be  admitted  provisionally  to  its 
sessions,  in  order  to  be  always  ready  to  receive  orders 
and  to  give  necessary  information. 

At  the  same  time  it  ordered  its  diplomatic  com- 

270 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

mittee  to  arrange  with  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
measures  it  might  be  fitting  to  propose  to  the  assem- 
bly relative  to  the  foreign  powers. 

The  minister  of  justice  asked  to  be  heard,  which 

s  was  granted.  He  observed  that  the  state  seal  hav- 
ing been  confided  to  him  by  the  king,  and  M.  de 
la  Porte  having  shown  him  this  morning  a  M^moire 
written,  and  signed  by  the  hand  of  the  king,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  was  a  note  containing  the  prohibi- 

io  tion  to  sign  anything  as  minister  until  he  had  received 
further  orders,  and  even  the  order  to  send  him  the 
seal  as  soon  as  he  should  require  it,  he  could  not, 
without  an  express  injunction  of  the  assembly, 
apply  the  state  seal  to  their  decrees.     He  added  that 

15  he  had  advised  M.  de  la  Porte  to  carry  the  M^moire 
to  the  president.  .  .  . 

The  national  assembly  decrees  as  follows: 
11 1.  The  decrees  of  the  national  assembly  already 
rendered,  which  have  not  been  sanctioned  nor  ac- 

20  cepted  by  the  king,  as  well  as  the  decrees  which  may 
be  rendered  and  cannot  be  sanctioned  nor  accepted 
on  account  of  the  absence  of  the  king,  shall  bear, 
nevertheless,  the  name  and  shall  have  in  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land  the  force  of  law,  and  the 

as  usual  formula  shall  continue  to  be  employed  there. 
"2.  It  is  enjoined  upon  the  minister  of  justice  to 
apply  the  seal  of  state,  without  the  need  of  the  sanc- 
tion or  acceptance  of  the  king,  and  to  sign  both  the 
minutes  of  the  decrees  which  are  to  be  deposited  in 

271 


The  French  Revolution 

the  national  archives  and  in  those  of  the  chancellery 
and  the  copies  of  the  laws  to  be  sent  to  the  tribunals 
and  the  administrative  bodies. 

"3.  The  ministers  are  authorized  to  assemble,  to 

5  make  and   sign  together  proclamations  and  other 
acts  of  a  similar  nature." 

The  ministers  retired  to  see  to  the  execution  of  the 
decrees. 
A  member  of  the  military  committee  observed  that, 

10  the  national  assembly  having  passed  the  laws  called 
for  by  the  internal  situation,  it  was  important  to 
take  thought  of  what  was  needed  for  the  security 
of  the  frontiers.  He  proposed,  in  consequence,  that 
this  committee  meet  to  consider  measures  to  be 

is  taken  touching  the  public  force  and  thereupon  give 
an  account  to  the  assembly.  This  proposition  was 
adopted.  Another  member  made  a  motion  relative 
to  M.  d'Affry,  commandant  of  the  troops  of  the 
line  in  the  department  of  Paris  and  in  the  neighbor- 

20  ing  departments,  which  was  passed  as  follows: 

"The  national  assembly  decrees  that  M.  d'Affry, 
commandant  of  the  troops  of  the  line  in  the  depart- 
ment of  Paris  and  the  neighboring  departments, 
shall  be  summoned  to  give  to  the  assembly  an  ac- 

25  count  of  the  measures  he  has  taken  to  secure  public 
tranquillity  in  the  departments  in  which  he  com- 
mands as  well  as  the  dispositions  relative  to  the 
regiment  of  Swiss  guards  which  are  in  the  service 
of  the  nation.  .  .  ." 

272 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

A  deputation  of  the  department  of  Paris  presented 
itself  at  the  bar  and  gave  an  account  of  the  decree 
the  department  had  rendered,  conceived  in  these 
terms: 

s  Extract  from  the  Register  of  the  Department  of  Paris, 
June  21,  i?qi 

li  Department  of  Paris. 
"On  the  proposition  of  one  of  its  members,  the 
department,  in  consideration  of  the  departure  of  the 

io  king  and  the  entire  royal  family,  has  decreed  that 
the  municipality  of  Paris  shall  at  once  place  seals 
upon  the  apartments  of  the  chateau  of  the  Tuileries 
and  the  Luxembourg;  that  it  shall  make  the  in- 
vestigations which  may  be  necessary  to  learn  by 

is  what  exits  the  royal  family  was  abducted;  that  it 
shall  hold  under  arrest  until  further  orders  all  those 
who  dwell  in  the  interior  of  the  chateau  of  the 
Tuileries  and  shall  have  them  questioned;  that  the 
municipality  shall  give  the  necessary  orders  to  have 

20  all  the  exits  of  Paris  closed  and  see  to  it  that  no  one 
goes  out  to-day. 

"  Decrees,  further,  that  one  of  its  members  shall 
go  at  once  to  the  national  assembly  to  inform  it  of 
this  action." 

as  The  national  assembly  gave  its  approval  to  this 
decree,  and,  a  member  having  proposed  that  the 
department  of  Paris  should  come  and  hold  its  sessions 

2  73 


The  French  Revolution 

in  one  of  the  offices  contiguous  to  the  hall  of  the 
national  assembly,  to  be  nearer  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  its  orders,  this  disposition  was  ordered.  .  .  . 

[The  minister  of  foreign  affairs]  was  introduced 
s  into  the  assembly,  and  after  he  had  been  heard  the 
preceding  motion  was  amended  and  passed  in  the 
following  form : 

"The  national  assembly  decrees  as  follows: 

"The  minister  of  the  interior  is  ordered  to  estab- 
io  lish  at  once  a  strong  guard  at  the  depots  of  foreign 
affairs  at  Paris  and  at  the  depots  of  foreign  affairs, 
war,  marine,  and  others  at  Versailles,  with  orders 
not  to  allow  papers,  ciphers,  or  packages  to  leave 
the  place  where  they  are  otherwise  than  by  an  order 
is  of  the  minister  and  upon  his  responsibility.  Similar 
orders  will  be  executed  as  to  the  lodging  occupied  at 
Paris  by  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs." 

Upon  an  order  to  add  some  members  to  the  com- 
mittee on  investigations,  it  was  proposed  to  unite 
20  the  committee  on  reports  to  that  on  investigation, 
that  they  might  occupy  themselves  with  the  exist- 
ing situation.     This  last  motion  was  passed.  .  .  . 

M.  d'Affry  was  brought  to  the  bar  with  several 
officers  of  the  staff  of  the  Swiss  guards.  He  ex- 
25  pressed  his  sentiments  of  fidelity  and  attachment 
to  the  nation.  He  begged  that  they  would  not  re- 
gard the  Swiss  as  foreign  auxiliaries,  but  as  French- 
men who  loved  their  country.  He  said  he  would 
consecrate  to  it  his  last  efforts.  .  .  . 

274 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

On  a  motion  made  to  that  purpose  the  president, 
authorized  by  the  assembly,  named  commissioners 
to  be  added  to  the  secretaries,  for  the  redaction  of 
the  Prods-verbal  and  the  classification  of  the  decrees 
s  passed  in  this  session.  .  .  *  They  retired  at  once  with 
one  of  the  secretaries  to  do  this  work. 

It  was  proposed  to  issue  a  proclamation  or  address 
to  the  French  people  relative  to  the  present  circum- 
stances.    This  was  voted,  and  the  committee  on  the 
io  constitution  was  charged  to  draw  it  up. 

[It  was  proposed  that  a  report  should  be  made  to 
the  assembly  of  the  state  of  the  treasury  and  the 
reserve  fund]  as  a  result  of  which  the  assembly 
decreed  as  follows: 
is  "The  national  assembly,  the  king  being  absent, 
orders  that  its  commissioners  at  the  national  treas- 
ury and  the  reserve  fund,  acting  in  concert  with  the 
commissioners  of  the  king  for  the  said  treasury  and 
fund,  shall  draw  up  a  Proems-verbal  of  the  present 
20  state  of  the  said  fund  and  treasury,  which  Procks- 
verbal  shall  be  brought  at  once  to  the  national  as- 
sembly." 

Thereupon  the  national  assembly  passed  to  the 
order  of  the  day,  which  was  the  continuation  of  the 
as  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  previous  day  and  the 
discussion  upon  the  penal  code.  .  .  . 

At  half  past  one,  before  passing  to  the  order  of 
the  day,  a  member  asked  that  it  be  decreed  that  the 
assembly  would  not  separate  until  a  new  decree  had 

275 


The  French  Revolution 

suspended  the  session.     The  assembly  adopted  the 
proposition.  .  .  . 

[M.  de  la  Porte,  intendant  of  the  civil  list,  was 
called   to   the   bar,   and   stated   how  the   Memoire 

s  written  by  the  king  had  been  handed  him  that 
morning  by  a  servant  attached  to  one  of  the  royal 
valets.  He  presented  the  Memoire  to  the  assembly, 
and  it  was  read.  The  opening  passage  was  as  fol- 
lows :] 

10  "So  long  as  the  king  could  hope  to  see  a  new 
birth  of  order  and  business  in  the  kingdom  through 
the  means  employed  by  the  national  assembly,  and 
by  his  residence  near  this  assembly  in  the  capital 
of  the  kingdom,  no  personal  sacrifice  was  too  great 

is  for  him ;  he  would  not  even  have  discussed  the  null- 
ity with  which  all  his  acts,  since  the  month  of 
October,  1789,  were  struck  because  of  his  absolute 
lack  of  liberty,  if  this  hope  had  been  realized.  But 
now  that  the  sole  recompense  of  so  many  sacrifices 

*o  is  to  see  the  destruction  of  the  kingdom,  to  see  all 
authorities  disregarded,  all  property  violated,  the 
security  of  persons  everywhere  endangered,  crime 
unpunished,  complete  anarchy  established  above 
the  laws,  without  the  appearance  of  authority  given 

25  him  by  the  new  constitution  being  sufficient  to  re- 
pair a  single  one  of  the  ills  which  afflict  the  kingdom, 
the  king,  after  having  solemnly  protested  against 
all  the  acts  emanating  from  him  during  his  captivity, 
believes  he  ought  to  place  before  the  eyes  of  the 

276 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

French  and  of  the  whole  world  a  picture  of  his  con- 
duct and  that  of  the  government  which  has  estab- 
lished itself  in  the  kingdom." 

[The  king  then  reviewed  the  events  of  1789  and 
s  1790,  notably  those  of  July  and  October,  1789,  the 
federation  of  1790,  the  arrest  of  his  aunts,  and  the 
opposition  to  his  departure  for  Saint-Cloud  in  1791. 
The  review  of  events  was  accompanied  by  a  criticism 
of  the  constitution  under  the  heads  of  Justice,  In- 
to ternal  Administration ,  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Finance. 
The  document  fills  twenty-two  pages  of  the  Proces- 
verbal.     It  concludes  in  the  following  words:] 

"Frenchmen,  and  above  all  you  people  of  Paris, 
you  inhabitants  of  a  city  whom  the  ancestors  of  His 

15  Majesty  were  pleased  to  call  the  good  city  of  Paris, 
beware  of  the  lies  and  suggestions  of  your  false 
friends.  Return  to  your  king;  he  will  always  be 
your  father,  your  best  friend.  What  pleasure  will 
he  not  take  in  forgetting  all  his  personal  injuries 

20  and  seeing  himself  again  in  the  midst  of  you  when 
a  constitution,  which  he  will  have  accepted  freely, 
will  be  so  effective  that  our  holy  religion  will  be 
respected,  the  government  established  on  a  firm 
footing  and  useful  through  its  action,  property  and 

25  the  status  of  each  no  longer  troubled,  the  laws  no 
longer  violated  with  impunity,  and  finally  liberty 
placed  on  firm  and  unshakable  bases.    (Signed)  Louis. 

"At  Paris,  June  20,  1791." 
19  277 


The  French   Revolution 

"The  King  forbids  his  ministers  to  sign  any  order 

in  his  name  until  they  have  received  further  orders 

from  him.     He  enjoins  the  guard  of  the  seal  of  the 

state  to  send  it  to  him  as  soon  as  he  shall  require 

s  him  to  do  so.     (Signed)  Louis. 

"At  Paris,  June  20,  1791." 

At  the  close  of  the  reading  the  motion  was  made 
to  pass  to  the  order  of  the  day,  and  a  second  to  send 
the  Memoire  to  the  committee  on  the  constitution 
10  to  prepare,  in  consequence,  a  proclamation.  The 
two  motions  were  put  to  vote  and  passed  at  the 
same  time.  .  .  . 

lime  suite  du  proems-verbal  de  la  seance  permanente 

Tuesday,  June  21 ,  1791,  six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
is      M.  Dauchy,  ex-president,  took  the  chair  and  an- 
nounced that  the  committee,  charged  with  editing 
the  different  decrees  passed  this  morning,  would  not 
delay  the  presentation  of  its  work.  .  ,  . 

[After  several  motions  relating  to  foreign  affairs 
20  the  following  decree  was  passed :] 

"The  national  assembly,  the  king  being  absent, 
orders  that  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  shall  make 
known  to  the  ambassadors  and  ministers  of  the 
powers  at  present  residing  in  Paris,  as  well  as  to  the 
25  ambassadors  of  France  in  foreign  states  and  king- 
doms, the  wish  of  the  French  nation  to  continue 
with  the  said  states  and  kingdoms  the  correspon- 

278 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

dence  of  amity  and  good  intelligence  which  has 
existed  up  to  the  present  time,  and  to  instruct  the 
said  ambassadors  and  residents  for  the  powers  that 
they  should  remit  to  M.  de  Montmorin  the  official 

s  notes  with  which  they  may  be  charged  on  the  part 
of  the  respective  princes  and  estates.  ..." 

One  of  the  commissioners  of  the  assembly,  charged 
to  supervise  the  reserve  fund,  made  a  report  on  the 
condition  of  that  fund.  ...  In  consequence  he  pro- 

io  posed  the  following  decree : 

"The  national  assembly  decrees  that  the  com- 
missioner-administrator of  the  reserve  fund  be  alone 
authorized  to  sign  ordinances  mentioned  in  Article 
IV  of  the  law  of  December  6th  last,  sanctioned  the 

is  15th  of  this  month,  until  further  orders;  and  the 
said  commissioner  of  the  king  shall  be  responsible 
for  the  said  ordinances,  in  conformity  with  the  said 
article."  .  .  .  The  assembly  voted  the  proposition 
of  the  committee. 

20  A  member  of  the  committee  of  finance  gave  an  ac- 
count to  the  assembly  of  the  state  of  the  public 
treasury.  The  result  was  that  there  was  found  in 
the  treasury,  namely: 

In  gold 2,908, 200  livres 

25  In  silver *    ,    .      6,559,700  livres 

In  paper  money 18,631,000  livres 

In  notes  due  during  the  month     .      3,437,428  livres 

Total 3i,536,328  livres 

379 


The  French  Revolution 

A  member  of  the  military  committee,  in  the  exe- 
cution of  a  decree  rendered  this  morning,  presented 
a  project  upon  the  means  of  providing  in  these  cir- 
cumstances for  the  external  and  internal  security 

5  of  the  state  and  the  maintenance  of  the  constitu- 
tion. .  .  .  This  amendment  was  adopted  and  the 
project  of  the  committee  passed  in  the  following 
terms: 

"The  national   assembly,  wishing  to  provide  in 

10  the  circumstances  for  the  external  and  internal  se- 
curity of  the  state  and  the  maintenance  of  the  con- 
stitution, decrees  as  follows: 

"article  i 

"The  national  guard  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  called 
is  to  arms  according  to  the  dispositions  announced  in 
the  following  articles :  .  .  . 

"article  IX 

"From  the  day  of  the  assembling  of  these  com- 
panies, all  the  citizens  who  compose  them  shall  re- 
20  ceive — namely ,  the  national  guard  1 5  sous  a  day.  .  .  . 

"article  x 

"When  the  situation  of  the  state  shall  no  longer 
demand  the  extraordinary  services  of  these  com- 
panies the  citizens  who  compose  them  shall  cease 
as  to  be  paid,  and  shall  re-enter  their  companies  of  the 
national  guard  without  any  distinction  being  made." 

280 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

The  assembly  suspended  its  deliberations  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  midnight  the  debates  be- 
gan again.  M.  Dauchy,  ex-president,  having  taken 
the  chair,  announced  that  the  commissioners  had 

5  edited  the  first  part  of  the  Prods-verbal  of  that  day's 
session.  The  assembly,  after  having  heard  the  read- 
ing of  it,  referred  it  back  to  the  commissioners  to 
have  the  corrections  made  which  seemed  fitting.  .  .  . 
A  member  observed  that  it   was  of  the  greatest 

io  importance  to  send  the  Prods  -  verbal  to  all  of 
the  departments,  to  maintain  public  peace  there, 
and  to  inform  the  citizens  of  the  measures  taken 
by  the  assembly  to  assure  the  defense  of  the 
state.  .  .  . 

is  The  assembly  suspended  its  deliberations  a  second 
time  at  an  hour  and  a  half  after  midnight,  and  re- 
newed them  at  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
2 2d  of  the  current  month.  One  of  the  commissioners 
who  acted  as  editor  brought  in  a  corrected  redaction 

20  of  the  Prods-verbal  of  yesterday  morning.  After 
the  reading  the  national  assembly  ordered  "that 
the  Prods-verbal  should  be  printed  at  once  and  sent 
without  delay  to  all  the  administrations  of  the  de- 
partments and  districts  of  the  kingdom."     The  de- 

25  liberations  were  suspended  for  the  third  time  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  (Signed)  Alexandre  Beau- 
harnais,  President;  Dauchy,  Jacques,  Menou,  ex- 
Presidents ;  Mauriet,  Grenot,  Regnier,  Le  Carlier, 
Merle,  Fricaud,  Secretaries. 

281 


The  French  Revolution 

2.  Rapport  du  sieur  Drouet  in  Relation  du  depart  de 
Louis  XVI.,  139. 
M.  Drouet:   Gentlemen,  here  is  an  account  of 
the  facts.     My  name  is  Drouet,  postmaster  at  Sainte- 

5  Menehould,  formerly  dragoon  in  the  regiment  of 
Conde.  My  comrade's  name  is  Guillaume,  employee 
of  the  directorate  of  Sainte-Menehould,  formerly 
dragoon  in  the  regiment  of  the  queen. 

In  the  year  1791,  June  21,  at  about  a  quarter  after 

10  seven  in  the  evening,  an  equipage  of  two  carriages 
and  eleven  horses  arrived  at  the  post  of  Sainte- 
Menehould.  I  thought  I  recognized  in  one  of  the 
carriages  the  face  of  the  queen,  whom  I  had  already 
seen.     Noticing,    thereupon,    on   the   front    seat   a 

is  rather  stout  man,  I  was  struck  by  his  resemblance 
to  the  effigy  of  the  king  printed  on  a  government 
note  of  fifty  livres.  The  sudden  arrival  of  a  de- 
tachment of  dragoons,  which  had  succeeded  a  de- 
tachment of  hussars,  both  of  them  destined  to  protect 

20  the  passage  of  a  treasure,  as  they  told  me,  confirmed 
more  and  more  my  suspicions,  especially  when  I  saw 
the  man  whom  I  believed  was  the  king  speak  with 
an  air  of  animation  and  in  a  low  voice  to  a  courier 
who  preceded  the  equipage.     The  eagerness  of  the 

25  couriers  to  have  the  horses  harnessed,  ordered  in 
the  morning  by  an  aide  de  camp,  M.  Goguelat, 
added  further  to  the  evidence.  However,  fearing 
to  be  the  author  of  a  false  alarm  and  being  then 
alone,  without  chance  to  consult  anybody — I  have 

282 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

the  honor  to  remark  to  the  assembly  that  my  house 
is  outside  Sainte-Menehould — I  allowed  the  carriage 
to  depart.  But,  seeing  at  once  the  dragoons  ready 
to  mount  to  accompany  it,  I  ran  to  the  guard  house; 

s  I  had  the  drums  beat  to  arms;   the  national  guard 
opposed  the  departure  of  the  dragoons,  and,  being 
by  that  time  sufficiently  convinced,  I  set  out,  accom- 
panied by  M.  Guillaume,  in  pursuit  of  the  king. 
Arrived  near  Clermont,  we  were  informed  by  the 

io  postilion  who  drove  the  king's  carriage  that  the 
king  had  just  passed  there.  Then  we  passed  behind 
Clermont,  and  we  gained  by  taking  short  cuts,  so 
that  we  arrived  at  Varennes  soon  enough  to  catch 
the  king  before  he  had  left.     It  was  then  eleven 

is  o'clock  at  night.  It  was  very  dark.  The  carriages 
were  halted  before  the  houses,  and  there  was  a  dis- 
pute between  the  postilions  and  the  conductors  of 
the  carriages.  The  postmaster  of  Clermont  had  for- 
bidden his  postilions  to  leave  Varennes  before  the 

20  horses  had  been  refreshed.  The  king,  fearing  he 
was  pursued,  wished  to  hasten  his  departure,  and 
would  listen  to  no  talk  of  resting,  so  that  while 
they  disputed  we  hurried  at  once  to  the  town  and 
put  our  horses  in  a  tavern  we  found  open.   I  talked 

2s  to  the  tavern  keeper.  I  took  him  aside,  because 
there  were  many  persons  there,  and  I  did  not  wish 
to  be  heard.  I  said  to  him:  "Comrade,  are  you  a 
good  patriot  ? "  "  Yes ,  make  no  mistake  about  that , ' ' 
he  answered.     "Very  well,  my  friend;  if  that  is  so, 

283 


The  French  Revolution 

run  quickly  and  inform  all  the  honest  people  you 
know.  Tell  them  the  king  is  in  the  upper  town  in 
Varennes;  that  he  is  going  to  go  down;  that  it  is 
necessary  to  arrest  him."     Then  he  went  out  and 

s  spread  the  news.  We,  on  our  side,  descended  into 
the  town,  reflecting  that  we  ought  not  to  call  to 
arms  or  sound  the  alarm  before  we  had  barricaded 
the  streets  and  bridge  by  which  the  king  would  pass. 
Consequently  we  betook  ourselves,  my  comrade  and 

io  I,  to  the  bridge  of  Varennes.  Close  to  the  bridge 
was  a  big  cart  loaded  with  furniture.  We  placed  it 
across  the  bridge.  Then  we  went  and  sought  several 
other  carts,  so  that  the  bridge  was  blocked  to  the 
point   that   it   was  impossible  to  pass.     Then   we 

is  rushed  to  the  house  of  the  mayor  and  the  command- 
ant of  the  national  guards.  Inside  of  ten  minutes 
we  had  eight  or  ten  trustworthy  men,  whose  names 
I  shall  give  in  the  proper  time  and  place.  We  ar- 
rived just  as  the  king  was  descending.     Then  the 

20  procureur  of  the  commune  and  the  commandant  of 
the  national  guard  approached  the  carriage  and 
questioned  the  travelers  as  to  who  they  were.  The 
queen  replied  that  they  were  in  a  great  hurry;  they 
requested   earnestly  to  be  allowed  to  pass.     They 

25  [officers]  were  insistent;  they  said  it  was  necessary 
to  see  if  they  were  supplied  with  passports.  They 
did,  in  fact,  show  a  passport,  saying,  however,  that 
was  not  especially  necessary.  She  finally  gave  her 
passport  to  two  ladies  of  honor,  who  descended  and 

284 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

came  to  the  tavern  to  have  it  read.  Here  in  a  few 
words  is  the  substance  of  the  passport:  "You  will 
allow  to  pass  the  Duchesse,  or  Comtesse,  or  Baronne 
de  KorrT,"  etc.     Those  who  heard  it  read  or  saw  it 

s  said  it  was  all  right.  We  answered  no,  because  it 
was  signed  only  by  the  king,  and  that  it  should  be 
signed  by  the  president  of  the  national  assembly.  I 
made  various  objections.  "Ladies,"  I  said  to  them, 
"if  you  are  strangers,  how  have  you  had  sufficient  in- 

io  fluence  to  have  a  detachment  of  fifty  dragoons,  who 
were  at  Sainte-Menehould,  leave  immediately  after 
you?  How,  when  you  passed  Clermont,  did  you 
have  the  same  influence  in  causing  the  departure 
of  the  detachment  which  was  at  Clermont?    Why, 

is  at  the  moment  in  which  I  am  speaking,  is  there  a 
detachment  of  hussars  [here]?"  After  these  ob- 
servations it  was  decided  they  would  not  leave  until 
morning.  They  got  out  and  went  up  into  the  apart- 
ment. 

20  3.  Extract  from  the  register  of  the  deliberations  of  the 
commune  of  Varennes. 
To-day,  June  23,  1791,  the  municipality  and  the 
general  council  of  the  commune  of  Varennes  assem- 
bled have  deliberated  and  redacted  the  following 

25  Proces-verbal,  to  be  addressed  to  the  national  as- 
sembly. . . . 

Tuesday,  June  21st,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  the 
procureur  of  the  commune  was  suddenly  informed 
by  a  courier  of  Sainte-Menehould  that  two  car- 

285 


The  French   Revolution 

riages,  which  they  had  attempted  in  vain  to  stop  at 
Clermont,  were  going  to  arrive  at  Varennes,  and 
that  he  believed  they  carried  a  burden  dear  to  all 
French  hearts.     These  carriages  having  arrived,  al- 

s  most  at  that  instant  the  procureur  of  the  commune 
appeared  and  asked  for  the  passports.  One  was 
presented  to  him  signed  Montmorin,  and  given  in 
the  name  of  the  Baronne  de  Korff  and  her  family 
going  to  Frankfort.     The  night  was  dark,  and  the 

io  citizens  were  already  on  foot.  To  defer  to  the  public 
uneasiness,  the  procureur  of  the  commune  observed 
to  these  persons,  still  unknown,  who  were  in  the 
two  carriages,  that  the  excitement  of  the  moment, 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  even  their  safety 

is  forbade  that  they  should  continue  their  route,  and 
at  the  same  time  he  invited  them  to  enter  his  house. 
These  persons  were  eleven  in  number,  five  of  whom 
were  in  one  carriage,  two  in  another,  and  four  on 
horseback  escorting  them. 

20  Having  dismounted  at  the  house  of  the  procureur 
of  the  commune,  they  declared  that  their  intention 
was  not  to  go  to  Frankfort,  but  to  Montmedy;  and 
as  if  French  hearts  habituated  to  cherish  their  king 
naturally  divined  him,  at  the  demonstration  of  love 

25  and  respect  we  showered  upon  him,  he  said:  "Yes, 
I  am  the  king.  There  are  the  queen  and  the  royal 
family.  I  come  to  live  among  you,  in  the  midst  of 
my  children,  whom  I  do  not  abandon."  All  the  per- 
sons, including  the  king,  being  visibly  affected,  the 

286 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

monarch  and  his  august  family  deigned  to  press  in 
their  arms  all  the  citizens  who  were  present  in  the 
apartment,  and  to  receive  from  them  the  same  marks 
of  warm  affection. 

5  At  this  moment  an  individual  calling  himself  the 
aide  de  camp  of  M.  de  Bouille  arrived  and  asked 
to  speak  to  the  king.  Introduced  by  the  procureur 
of  the  commune  and  interrogated  by  the  king  as  to 
his  name,  he  said,  "I  am  Coglas."     "Good!"  said 

io  the  king.  "When  do  we  leave?"  "I  await  your 
orders,  Sire."  And  the  orders  were  given  in  con- 
cert with  the  procureur  of  the  commune  and  this 
officer.  The  king  meanwhile  testified  his  eagerness 
to  depart,  and  asked  several  times  if  the  horses  were 

is  ready.  A  crowd  of  citizens  from  all  the  neighbor- 
ing towns  had  betaken  themselves  to  Varennes  in 
the  interval;  and  at  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the 
king,  carried  rapidly  into  the  most  remote  canton, 
all  hurried  toward  him  with  all  the  joy,  the  eager- 

20  ness,  tender  but  at  the  same  time  uneasy  and  noisy, 
of  a  great  family  which  comes  to  find  its  father  and 
fears  to  lose  him  again. 

The  municipal  officers  had  only  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  king  to  this  scene  of  sentiment  and 

2s  unrest  to  move  the  sensibility  of  his  heart.  They 
explained  to  him  that,  loved  by  the  people,  his  throne 
was  in  all  hearts,  his  name  in  all  mouths,  but  that 
his  residence  was  at  Paris.  To  Paris  he  was  called 
by  the  fearful  and  urgent  desires  of  the  provinces 

287 


The   French   Revolution 

even;  that  in  this  time  of  discord  and  alarm,  the 
nation  called  for  its  chief,  and  the  people  for  their 
father;  that  the  safety  of  the  state  was  dependent 
upon  the  achievement  of  the  constitution,  and  the 

s  constitution  itself  upon  his  return;  that,  fortunate 
on  account  of  his  virtues,  the  French  people  wished 
to  be  more  so  on  account  of  his  personal  happiness, 
and  that  his  good  and  tender  heart  could  find  the 
assurance  of  it  only  in  the  enjoyment  of  it  in  com- 

io  mon  with  them. 

In  the  interval  there  arrived  a  detachment  of  the 
hussars  of  the  regiment  of  Lauzun,  falling  back  upon 
Varennes;  and,  we  are  glad  to  say  it,  these  citizen- 
soldiers  testified  for  their  brothers  in  arms  only  the 

is  most  peaceable  and  friendly  dispositions.  .  .  . 

Upon  the  reiterated  request  of  the  king,  the  munic- 
ipality was  deliberating  in  general  council,  when  two 
aides  de  camp  of  M.  de  Lafayette  arrived,  bearers  of 
the  decree  of  the  national  assembly,  or  rather  of  the 

20  wishes  of  entire  France  for  the  return  of  the  monarch. 
All  the  citizens  then,  redoubling  their  pleas  and  sup- 
plications to  the  monarch,  succeeded  in  moving  him 
by  the  account  of  the  sanguinary  misfortunes  of 
which  his  departure  was  going  to  be  the  signal,  of 

as  the  happiness  of  which  his  return  would  be  the 
pledge  and  of  the  tribute  of  love  with  which  Paris, 
the  national  assembly,  all  France  would  repay  with 
enthusiasm  this  new  act  of  love  for  his  people. 
Yielding  finally  to  these  gentle  and  pressing  emotions, 

288 


The   Flight  of  the  King 

the  king  and  the  royal  family  consented  to  depart, 
and  at  about  half  past  six  in  the  morning,  in  the 
midst  of  public  acclamations  which  are  so  pleasant 
to  receive  when  they  are  at  the  same  time  the  cry 

s  of  liberty  and  of  love,  the  king  set  out  accompanied 
by  a  large  crowd  of  citizens  and  of  national  guards 
destined  much  less  to  protect  his  march  than  to 
honor  the  triumph  of  his  feelings.  The  municipal 
officers  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Clermont. 

10  4.  Examination  of  Maldent. 

Thursday,  July  7,  1791,  in  the  morning. 
Had  brought  from  his  prison  M.  Maldent,  who 
said  he  was  called  Jean  Francois  Maldent,  thirty- 
seven  years  of  age,  former  body  guard,  born  at  Etain 

is  in  Limousin,  dwelling  in  the  said  Limousin,  electing 
domicile  in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  prison.  .  .  . 

What  day,  how,  and  by  whom  had  he  been  in- 
structed of  the  departure  of  the  king,  the  queen, 
and  the  royal  family? 

20  He  said  by  nobody.  Observes  that  being  in  the 
court,  Monday,  June  21st  last,  at  nine  o'clock,  or 
thereabout,  as  he  had  received  orders  to  do  from  M. 
Dumoustier,  a  person  he  did  not  know  came  to  tell 
him  to  go  upstairs  in  the  chateau.     He  followed  this 

25  person.  They  shut  him  up  in  a  cabinet  or  between 
two  doors,  where  he  remained  until  the  departure  of 
the  king.  He  came  himself  to  open  the  door  and  to 
tell  him  to  follow  him,  which  he  did  as  far  as  a  car- 
riage.    The  king  told  him  to  get  up  behind.     He 

289 


The   French   Revolution 

followed  his  orders  as  far  as  the  Porte  Saint-Martin, 
where  the  king  changed  to  another  carriage,  behind 
which  he  mounted  [remaining  there],  according  to 
the  order  of  the  king,  as  far  as  Bondy.     He  took  the 

5  post  with  the  king.  .  .  . 

What  hour  was  it  when  he  left  the  chateau  with 
the  king? 

Replied  he  could  not  tell  the  precise  hour;    that 
he  knew  only  that  it  was  after  the  coucher  of  the 

io  king.  .  .  .  There  were  sentinels  at  all  the  posts,  as 
usual,  and  there  were  national  guards  walking  about 
in  the  court  when  the  king  passed  there  with  him. 
.  .  .  The  king  wore  a  round  hat,  a  coat  over  a  suit 
which  he  believed  was  brown,  overcoat  of  a  green 

is  mixture,  as  far  as  he  could  remember,  and  he  had  no 
outward  marks  of  distinction,  such  as  he  ordinarily 
wore.  Added  that  the  king  carried  a  cane  in  his 
hand.  .  .  .  They  had  gone  out  in  the  darkness,  he 
following  the  king,  who  guided  him.     [On  leaving 

20  the  chateau]  he  had  gone  to  the  Little  Carrousel, 
where  the  king's  carriage  was.  [In  crossing  the 
Court  of  the  Princes]  he  said  he  had  seen  various 
national  guards  who  were  moving  about  without 
being    able  to   say  whether  they  were  officers  or 

25  not. 

Was  it  he  who  opened  the  door  when  the  king 
got  into  the  carriage?     He  said  no. 

Who  did  open  it?    Said  it  was  the  coachman  who 
was  there, 

2QQ 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

Who  was  in  the  carriage  ?     Said  he  did  not  see  any- 
body in  the  carriage  at  that  moment. 

What  kind  of  a  carriage  was  it?     Said  he  believed 
it  was  a  very  shabby,  hired  carriage. 
5      Did  they  depart  at  once?     He  said  yes,  as  soon 
as  the  king  got  into  the  carriage. 

Did  he  know  the  people  who  accompanied  the 
queen  and  Madame  Elizabeth  from  the  chateau? 
He  said  no. 
io      Did   they   reach   the   carriage   before   the   king? 
Said  yes. 

Was  he  alone  behind  the  carriage?     He  said  yes. 

Were  the  dauphin,  madame,  the  daughter  of  the 
king,  and  Madame  de  Tourzel  in  the  carriage?     He 
is  said  yes. 

How  many  horses  were  there  to  this  carriage? 
Said  there  were  two. 

Who  paid  for  this  carriage  when  they  took  the 
one  at  the  Porte  Saint-Martin?  Said  nobody,  and 
20  that  they  had  left  the  carriage  there,  one  of  the 
horses  having  fallen  into  the  ditch,  and  that  the 
same  coachman  who  had  driven  this  carriage  got 
upon  the  seat  of  the  one  the  travelers  had  entered. 
Having  made  certain  that  everybody  was  in  the 
25  carriage,  he  got  up  behind. 

What  is  the  name  of  the  coachman?    Said  he  did 
not  know. 

If  from  the  Porte  Saint- Martin  they  went  directly 
to  Bondy?     Said  yes. 

291 


The   French   Revolution 

Was   it   there   they   changed   horses?     Said   yes. 
M.  Valory  had  had  the  horses  prepared  to  await  the 
king. 
Did  they  take  post-horses  there,  and  how  many  of 
s  them  did  they  put  to  the  king's  carriage?     Said  they 
put  six  post-horses  to  the  carriage.     There  were  two 
couriers,  one  before,  who  was  M.  Valory,  and  one 
behind,  who  was  himself.     M.  Dumoustier  was  on 
the  seat  of  the  carriage. 
10      Where  did  M.  Dumoustier  join  the  carriage?  Said 
that  he  was  at  the  Porte  Saint-Martin  with  the  car- 
riage which  awaited  the  king  on  the  seat  of  which 
he  had  mounted  to  go  to  Bondy. 

Was   M.  Dumoustier  by  the  side  of  the  coach- 
is  man?     Said  yes.  .  .  . 

How  far  did  they  go  from  Bondy  before  changing 
horses?  He  said  they  changed  at  all  the  posts,  with- 
out being  able  to  tell  the  name  of  the  next  post  after 
Bondy,  as  he  was  not  acquainted  with  this  route. 
20  At  the  post  after  Bondy,  was  there  a  carriage 
waiting?  Said  he  could  not  tell  whether  it  was  at 
the  post  after  Bondy  or  at  another  that  they  had 
met  a  chaise  or  cabriolet,  in  which  were  two  ladies 
of  the  chamber  whose  names  he  did  not  know.  .  .  . 
as  Did  they  hurry  in  making  the  changes  at  each 
post?  Said  that  M.  Valory,  who  went  ahead,  was 
charged  with  the  care  of  having  the  horses  ready. 

Did  they  travel  at  a  high  rate  of  speed  on  the 
road?     Said  no. 

292 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

Did  he  know  there  was  a  passport,  when  did  he 

know  it,  and  in  what  names   it   was    [made   out]? 

Said  the  one  who  had  given  him  orders  said  there 

was  need  of  nothing,  and  he  had  not  known  whether 

s  there  was  a  passport. 

Had  anybody  orders  to  protect  the  passage?  Said 
he  knew  nothing  of  that. 

Were  they  stopped  upon  the  way,  and  did  they  en- 
counter anybody  ?     Said  they  had  not  been  stopped 
io  upon  the  way,  and  that  they  saw  no  one.  .  .  . 

Was  asked  who  had  stopped  the  carriage  of  the 

king,  in  what  place  it  took  place,  and  at  what  time? 

Said  it  was  the  national  guard  of  Varennes,  and  that 

it  took  place  between  half  past  nine  and  ten  o'clock 

is  in  the  evening.  .  .  . 

Was  there  much  difficulty  when  the  king's  car- 
riage was  stopped,  was  there  any  resistance?  Said 
there  was  no  resistance  at  all;  that  a  great  noise 
had  been  made  to  stir  the  people  up,  and  that  the 
ao  king  said,  showing  his  passport,  that  he  did  not  in- 
tend to  leave  the  kingdom,  but  was  going  to  the 
place  indicated  by  him.  That  he  did  not  wish  to 
remain  in  Paris  at  the  present  time  for  reasons  known 
to  himself;  that  he  had  made  this  remark  when  he 
as  was  taken  to  the  house  of  the  procureur  of  the  com- 
mune, and  that,  furthermore,  they  could  take  him 
where  they  pleased. 

Did  he  know  what  the  passport  contained?     Said 
he  had  not  seen  it.     Was  stated  to  him  that  hussars 
20  293 


The  French  Revolution 

and  dragoons  had  presented  themselves  at  the  time 
of  the  arrest  to  protect  the  passage  [of  the  king]. 
They  did  not  lay  down  their  arms  until  they  had 
seen  deployed  a  force  strong  enough  to  hold  them  in 

s  check.  Said  he  had  seen  neither  hussars  nor  dra- 
goons at  the  time  of  the  king's  arrest;  that  after 
going  up  into  the  apartments  of  the  procureur  of 
the  commune  he  had  seen  hussars,  but  a  long  time 
afterward. 

io  5.  Letter  of  the  municipality  [of  Sainte-Menehould] 

to  the  president  of  the  national  assembly,  June 

21  [1791]. 

.  .  .  Between  seven  and  half  past  eight  in  the 

afternoon   there   passed    through    this   city,    going 

is  from  west  to  east,  two  carriages.  They  were  pre- 
ceded by  a  courier  and  followed  by  another,  both 
dressed  in  chamois-colored  stuff,  and  they  departed 
after  having  changed  horses  without  imagining  that 
anybody  had  suspected  who  was  inside. 

20  Hardly  were  the  two  carriages  lost  to  sight  than 
M.  Drouet,  postmaster,  suspecting  some  mystery, 
believed  he  ought  to  inform  the  city  government. 
We  at  once  assembled  in  the  common  hall,  and  all 
the  inhabitants  armed  themselves.     Meanwhile  the 

25  dragoons  had  remained  quiet;  but,  the  people  having 
demanded  the  disarmament  of  the  soldiers,  we  in- 
vited M.  d'Andoins,  who  commanded  them,  to  come 
to  the  city  hall.  Shortly  after,  we  had  been  con- 
firmed in  our  fears  by  an  express  sent  to  us  by  the 

294 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

directorate  of  the  department  of  the  Marne.  We 
had  already  charged  M.  Drouet,  postmaster,  and  M. 
Guillaume,  one  of  the  inhabitants,  to  ride  after  the 
carriages  and  to  have  them  stopped,  if  they  could 

s  overtake  them.     It  is  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  they  have  not  yet  returned. 
6.  Prods-verbal  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  com- 
mune of  Varennes,  June  27,  1791. 
The  same  day,  the  twenty-first,  about  a  quarter 

10  after  eleven  at  night,  there  arrived  at  the  tavern 
Bras  d'Or,  M.  Drouet,  of  the  horse-post  at  Sainte- 
Menehould,  accompanied  by  M.  Guillaume,  in- 
habitant of  the  same  town,  both  on  horses,  and  who, 
without  stopping  to  get  their  breath,  informed  M. 

15  Blan,  the  tavern  keeper,  that  two  carriages  were 
coming  down  behind  them  and  were  going  to  pass 
at  once,  and  that  they  suspected  that  the  king  was 
in  one.  The  tavern  keeper,  an  officer  of  the  national 
guard,  ran  to  the  house  of  M.  Sauce,  procureur  of 

20  the  commune,  whom  he  aroused  at  once  and  told 
him  what  he  came  to  announce.  He  then  returned 
home,  armed  himself  and  his  brother,  and  went  on 
guard.  The  procureur  of  the  commune  notified  the 
municipal  officer  who  represents  the  mayor,  deputy 

as  at  the  national  assembly.  Having  met  M.  Regnier, 
a  lawyer,  who  was  equally  informed,  he  begged  him 
to  go  quickly  and  inform  the  other  officers.  The 
procureur  of  the  commune,  returning  home,  made 
his  children  get  up,  and  told  them  to  run  into  the 

295 


The  French  Revolution 

street  and  cry  "Fire!"  in  order  to  give  the  alarm. 
He  took  a  lantern  and  went  to  the  passage.  Mean- 
while MM.  Regnier  and  Drouet  dragged  up  a 
loaded  wagon  and  barred  the  bridge.     It  was  at 

s  this  moment  that  the  carriages  appeared.  The  two 
brothers  Blan  had  stopped  the  first,  which  was  a 
cabriolet,  in  which  were  two  ladies.  The  procureur 
of  the  commune,  having  approached  the  carriage, 
asked  for  the  passports;    they  replied  to  him  that 

io  the  second  carriage  had  them.  He  went  to  that. 
This  carriage  was  loaded  in  an  extraordinary  way, 
was  drawn  by  six  horses,  with  three  riders  on  three 
of  the  horses,  and  three  persons  dressed  in  yellow 
on  the  seat.     The  two  brothers  Le  Blan,  together 

is  with  MM.  Regnier,  Coquillard,  Justin  George, 
Pousin,  all  national  guards,  Thenevin  des  Ilettes, 
and  Deslion  de  Monfaucon,  who  were  lodged  at  the 
tavern  Bras  d'Or  and  armed,  put  on  a  firm  and 
brave  front.     The  procureur  of  the  commune,  going 

20  up  to  the  door,  asked  the  persons  in  the  carriage 
where  they  were  going  and  raised  his  lantern  to 
look  at  them.  They  replied  they  were  going  to 
Frankfort.  ...  The  procureur  of  the  commune,  who 
had  lodged  these  strangers  in  an  upper  chamber  in 

25  the  rear  of  his  house,  already  well  surrounded,  ran 
to  M.  Detez,  judge  of  the  tribunal,  that  he  might 
come  down  and  see  if  it  really  was  the  king  and  his 
family.  .  .  .  He  returned  to  his  house  with  the  said 
M.  Detez  and  went  up  into  the  apartment  where 

296 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

the  king,  the  queen,  the  dauphin,  Madame  Royal, 
Madame  Elizabeth,  and  other  persons  of  their  suite 
were,  and  they  were  recognized  by  the  said  M.  Detez. 
7.  Tourzel,  La  Duchesse  de,  M6moires,  I,  304-327. 

s  We  descended  to  the  entresol  of  the  queen,  where 
the  king  had  already  come  from  his  side  [of  the 
chateau].  Their  majesties  told  me  that  they  would 
be  followed  by  three  of  the  body  guards,  one  of 
whom  would  give  his  arm  to  the  queen  to  conduct 

10  her  on  foot  to  the  carriage;  that  the  two  others 
would  drive  the  traveling  carriage,  which  was  to 
wait  for  the  king  at  some  distance  from  the  bar- 
rier (for  all  the  royal  family  went  out  on  foot,  ex- 
cept   the   dauphin   and    madame).     The   carriages 

is  having  arrived,  the  queen  went  herself  to  see  if  all 
were  quiet  in  the  court,  and,  seeing  nobody,  she  em- 
braced me,  saying,  "The  king  and  I  place  in  your 
hands,  Madame,  with  the  greatest  confidence,  all 
we  hold  most  dear  in  the  world.     Everything  is 

20  ready.  Go!"  We  descended  through  the  apart- 
ment of  M.  de  Villequier,  where  there  was  no  sen- 
tinel; we  passed  through  a  door  that  was  seldom 
used  and  got  into  an  old  and  dilapidated  carriage, 
resembling  much  a  fiacre,  which  was  driven  by  the 

25  Comte  de  Fersen. 

In  order  to  give  the  king  time  to  arrive  we  took 
a  little  drive  on  the  quays  and  returned  by  way  of 
the  Rue  Saint-Honor6,  to  await  the  royal  family  in 
front  of  the  house  then  called  the  H6tel  de  Gaillar- 

297 


The  French   Revolution 

bois.  I  waited  three-quarters  of  an  hour  without 
seeing  any  member  of  the  royal  family  arrive.  M. 
de  Fersen  played  perfectly  the  r61e  of  driver  of  a 
fiacre,  whistling,  gossiping  with  another  driver  who 
s  happened  to  be  there,  and  taking  snuff  from  his 
snuff  box.  I  was  upon  thorns,  although  I  did  not 
allow  my  uneasiness  to  appear,  when  madame  said 
to  me,  "There  is  M.  de  Lafayette."  I  hid  the  dau- 
phin under  my  skirts,  assuring  both  of  them  that 
io  they  need  not  be  frightened.  I  was,  however.  M. 
Bailly  followed  him  at  a  short  distance.  They  both 
passed  and  suspected  nothing,  and  after  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  of  anxiety  I  had  the  consolation 
of  seeing  Madame  Elizabeth  arrive.  It  was,  how- 
is  ever,  the  beginning  of  hope.  It  was  half  past  eleven, 
and  it  was  only  after  midnight  that  we  saw  the  king 
arrive.  MM.  Bailly  and  Lafayette,  who  had  come 
to  the  coucher,  began  to  converse;  and,  to  give  no 
cause  for  suspicion,  the  prince  did  not  wish  to  ap- 
20  pear  in  a  hurry  to  retire.  It  was  necessary,  after 
that,  for  the  king  to  undress  himself,  get  into  bed, 
make  a  new  toilet,  put  on  a  wig  to  disguise  himself, 
and  come  on  foot  from  the  Tuileries  to  the  carriage. 
The  queen  was  to  leave  only  after  the  king,  and  the 
25  extreme  affection  he  felt  for  her  showed  itself  vividly 
upon  this  occasion  by  the  manner  in  which  he  ex- 
pressed his  uneasiness.  As  soon  as  she  got  into  the 
carriage  he  took  her  in  his  arms,  kissed  her,  and  said 
to  her,  "How  glad  I  am  to  see  you  here!"     They 

298 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

kissed  each  other.  All  the  royal  family  did  me  the 
same  honor,  and,  convinced  that  we  had  passed  the 
obstacle  the  most  difficult  to  surmount,  we  began  to 
hope  that  Heaven  would  favor  our  journey, 
s  The  king  told  us  that  after  having  gotten  rid  of 
MM.  Bailly  and  de  Lafayette  he  went  out  alone 
through  the  great  door  of  the  Tuileries  in  great 
tranquillity,  as  he  felt  perfectly  certain  that  by  the 
precaution   he  had   taken   to   have   the   Chevalier 

io  de  Coigny,  whose  shape  so  perfectly  resembled  his 
own,  go  out  by  this  same  door,  he  had  prepared  the 
sentinels  at  this  gate  for  two  weeks  to  permit  him 
to  go  out  with  entire  security.  So  great  was  it 
that  his  shoe,  having  come  unfastened,  he  refastened 

is  it  without  anybody  paying  attention  to  it,  and  he 
had  not  experienced  the  least  trouble.  .  .  . 

M.  de  Fersen,  fearing  that  the  body  guards  might 
take  another  road  than  the  one  indicated  to  them, 
and  that  if  he  took  the  shorter  we  might  have  to 

20  repass  the  barrier  to  meet  them,  preferred  to  take 
the  longest,  which  cost  us  a  half  hour,  and  this, 
added  to  the  half  hour  more  the  coucher  of  the  king 
had  lasted,  made  us  an  hour  and  a  half  late.  We 
found  a  wedding  ceremony  going  on  at  the  house  of 

25  the  official  at  the  barrier,  a  crowd  of  people  and  lights 
at  the  doors;  but,  fortunately,  we  were  not  recog- 
nized, and  passed  without  difficulty.  To  complete 
the  bad  luck,  the  horses  of  the  king's  carriage  fell 
twice    between    Nintr6    [Chaintrix]    and    Chalons, 

299 


The  French   Revolution 

broke  all  the  traces,  and  forced  us  to  lose  more  than 
an  hour  in  repairing  the  disaster.  .  .  . 

We  found,  at  some  distance  from  the  barrier  of 
Clichy,  the  carriage  awaiting  us,  and  we  abandoned 

5  the  old  carriage  and  horses  without  caring  what 
became  of  them.  M.  de  Fersen  drove  the  king's 
coach  as  far  as  Laye  [Claye],  where  we  took  the  post. 
The  king,  on  leaving  him,  expressed  his  gratitude 
in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  hoping  that  he 

io  would  be  able  to  prove  it  otherwise  than  in  words, 
and  flattering  himself  that  he  would  see  him  again 
soon. 

We   traveled   in   a   large   and   very   comfortable 
coach,  but  which  had  nothing  extraordinary  about 

15  it,  as  has  been  repeated  since  the  sad  outcome  of 
this  unhappy  journey.  I  was  supposed  to  be  the 
mistress  under  the  name  of  the  Baronne  de  Korfl; 
the  king  passed  for  my  valet  de  chambre,  the  queen 
for  my  lady's  maid,  and  Madame  Elizabeth  for  the 

20  children's  nurse.  The  Baronne  de  Korff,  whose 
name  I  bore,  had  made  a  rapid  journey  from  Paris 
to  Montmedy,  by  the  same  route  we  took,  in  a 
carriage  similar  to  our  own,  with  the  same  number 
of  persons,  and  nowhere  had  she  been  asked  for  her 

25  passport.  The  observation  had  been  carried  to  the 
point  of  calculating  how  many  hours  she  had  taken 
to  reach  Montmedy,  and  the  sad  result  of  this  last 
precaution  will  be  seen. 

When  the  barrier  was  passed,  the  king  began  to 

300 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

augur  well  for  the  journey  and  to  talk  about  his 
plans:  "Here  I  am,"  said  this  good  prince,  "out- 
side of  this  city  of  Paris,  where  I  have  swallowed  so 
many  bitter  potions.     You  may  be  certain  that  once 

s  in  the  saddle,  I  shall  be  very  different  from  what 
you  have  known  me  up  to  the  present  time."  He 
then  read  to  us  the  Memoire  he  had  left  at  Paris 
to  be  carried  to  the  assembly,  and  he  enjoyed  by 
anticipation  the  happiness  he  might  cause  France 

io  to  experience  from  the  return  of  the  princes,  his 
brothers,  and  of  his  faithful  servants,  and  from  the 
possibility  of  re-establishing  religion  and  repairing 
the  ills  which  his  forced  sanctions  had  brought  upon 
it  [France].     Then,  looking  at  his  watch,  which  in- 

13  dicated  eight  o'clock,  he  said:  "Lafayette  is  just 
now  a  very  much  disturbed  gentleman!"  It  was 
hard  to  share  the  anxiety  of  the  general  and  feel 
any  other  sentiment  than  that  of  joy  at  having 
shaken  him  off.  .  .  .  The  farther  we  advanced  on  our 

20  way,  the  more  we  abandoned  ourselves  to  hope. 
"When  we  shall  have  passed  Chalons  we  shall  have 
nothing  more  to  fear,"  said  the  king.  "At  Pont-de- 
Sommevesle  we  shall  find  the  first  detachment  of 
troops,  and  the  success  of  our  journey  is  assured.  ..." 

25  Arrived  at  Pont-de-Sommevesle,  what  was  our 
grief  and  uneasiness  when  the  couriers  reported  to 
us  that  they  had  found  no  trace  of  the  troop,  nor 
any  one  who  could  tell  them  anything  about  it; 
that  they  did  not  dare  to  ask  questions  for  fear  they 

301 


The  French   Revolution 

might  arouse  suspicion;  and  we  could  only  hope 
that  at  Orbeval,  which  was  the  next  post,  we  would 
be  more  fortunate.  But  our  happiness  was  at  an 
end.     Heaven,  which  wished  to  test  to  the  extreme 

s  our  august  and  unhappy  sovereigns,  permitted  that 
the  Due  de  Choiseul  should  absolutely  lose  his  head. 
The  task  was  too  great  for  him.  .  .  .  M.  de  Choiseul, 
on  taking  leave  of  the  king,  had  given  him  an  itin- 
erary of  the  route  as  far  as  Pont-de-Sommevesle, 

10  where  he  was  to  find  him  at  the  head  of  the  first 
detachment  of  troops  charged  to  escort  his  majesty. 
Furnished  with  all  the  instructions  necessary  to  ar- 
rive surely  at  the  end  of  the  journey,  he  had  indi- 
cated where  the  king  should  be  very  careful  not  to 

15  be  recognized,  had  calculated,  as  I  have  already  said, 
the  time  it  would  take  for  the  journey,  and  conse- 
quently when  he  ought  to  reach  Pont-de-Sommevesle. 
But,  unfortunately,  he  had  made  no  allowance  for 
accidents  which  might  happen,  and  that  was  the 

20  cause  of  our  destruction. 

To  avoid  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  troops,  who 
had  been  placed  by  detachments  from  Pont-de- 
Sommevesle  to  Clermont,  they  had  been  told  that 
they  were  destined  to  escort  a  treasure,  the  arrival 

as  of  which  had  been  delayed  until  Monday,  the  21st. 
Some  remarks  made  upon  the  delay  of  the  arrival 
of  the  treasure  disturbed  M.  de  Choiseul,  who, 
noting  that  it  was  already  two  hours  beyond  the 
time  fixed  for  the  king's  arrival,  decided  that  he  had 

302 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

changed  his  mind  and  that  the  plan  had  failed.  He 
gave  then,  as  I  have  been  told,  his  cabriolet  to  Leo- 
nard, hair-dresser  of  the  queen,  whom  he  had  brought 
from  Paris  with  him,  that  he  might  inform  the  troops 

s  stationed  along  the  route  that  the  journey  was 
abandoned,  that  the  king  had  not  appeared,  en- 
joining him  further  to  go  as  far  as  Montm6dy  to 
carry  the  same  news.  He  then  mounted  his  horse, 
saying  to  the  detachment  which  was  at  Pont-de- 

io  Sommevesle  that  he  had  just  received  word  that  the 
treasure  would  not  go  through,  and  that  he  was 
going  to  Montmedy  by  the  shortest  route.  .  .  . 

We  were  no  more  fortunate  at  Orbeval  than  at 
Pont-de-Sommevesle.     The  same  silence,  the  same 

is  uncertainty.  We  reached  Sainte-Menehould  in  a  vio- 
lent agitation.  It  was  still  further  augmented  when 
M.  d'Andoins,  captain  in  the  regiment  of  M.  de 
Choiseul,  approached  the  carriage  for  an  instant  and 
said  very  low:    "The  plan  has  miscarried.     I  am 

20  going  to  withdraw  in  order  not  to  arouse  suspicion." 

These  few  words  pierced  us  to  the  heart;   but  there 

was  nothing  else  to  do  than  continue  our  journey, 

and  no  appearance  of  uncertainty  was  permitted. 

As  bad  luck  would  have  it,  the  infamous  Drouet, 

25  son  of  the  master  of  the  post  at  Sainte-Menehould, 
a  furious  patriot,  was  at  the  door  at  that  moment, 
and,  having  had  the  curiosity  to  look  into  the  carriage, 
he  thought  he  recognized  the  king,  and  made  sure 
of  it  by  comparing  the  face  of  that  prince  with  some 

303 


The  French  Revolution 

paper  money  he  had  in  his  pocket.  This  unhappy 
man  got  a  horse  and  followed  the  carriage  of  the  king 
to  Clermont;  and,  having  heard  that  he  was  going 
to  Varennes,  he  judged  it  would  be  easy  to  have  him 
s  arrested  by  getting  ahead  and  informing  the  au- 
thorities and  the  inhabitants,  upon  whom  he  could 
count,  of  the  passage  of  his  majesty. 

We  reached  Clermont  without  any  inconvenience, 
but  on  our  arrival  in  that  city  Comte  Charles  de 

io  Damas,  colonel  of  the  dragoons  of  Monsieur,  and 
who  had  left  his  post,  in  spite  of  the  notice  from  the 
Due  de  Choiseul,  told  us  there  was  excitement  in 
that  region,  and  that  he  was  going  to  attempt  the 
impossible  by  trying  to  withdraw  his  regiment  and 

is  escort  his  majesty's  carriage.  He  did  try  it,  in  fact, 
but  without  success.  The  authorities  joined  with 
the  inhabitants  to  prevent  the  regiment  from  leav- 
ing the  village,  and  the  troops  refused  to  obey  M. 
de  Damas.     He  was  tempted  to  move  them  by  say- 

20  ing  to  them  that  he  was  going  to  escort  the  king  and 
his  family,  but  he  did  not  dare  to,  fearing  to  meet 
with  a  refusal,  the  consequences  of  which  would 
have  been  the  arrest  of  the  king.  He  contented 
himself  with  sending  an  officer  post-haste  to  Var- 

2s  ennes  to  inform  MM.  de  Bouille  and  de  Raigecourt 
that  the  king  was  coming,  but  the  fatality  which 
accompanied  all  these  attempts  of  the  king  to  es- 
cape from  his  cruel  situation  decreed  that  this  officer, 
who  was  not  well  acquainted  with  the  road,  took  the 

304 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

road  to  Verdun  instead  of  that  to  Varennes,  and  did 
not  get  there  in  time  to  fulfil  his  mission.  We  saw 
on  the  heights  of  this  last  city  a  man  who  seemed  to 
want  to  conceal  himself.     Our  uneasiness  increased. 

s  We  believed  we  had  been  betrayed,  and  we  drove 
on  rilled  with  trouble  and  sadness  easier  to  imagine 
than  to  describe. 

Our  position  was  frightful.     It  became  even  more 
so  when,  on  our  arrival  at  Varennes,  we  found  no 

10  fresh  horses  and  no  one  who  could  tell  us  what  had 
become  of  them.  We  knocked  on  a  door;  we  en- 
deavored to  discover  if  they  knew  anything  of  the 
relay  that  should  be  waiting  for  us.  We  could  learn 
nothing  of  the  matter  which  interested  us,  and  we 

is  attempted  to  follow  the  only  course  open  to  us  by 
proposing  to  the  postilions  to  double  the  distance, 
offering  them  money  for  it.  They  refused,  saying 
their  horses  were  too  tired ;  we  told  them  to  take  us 
to  the  nearest  tavern  in  the  town,  to  set  out  as  soon 

20  as  their  horses  should  be  rested.  There  was  no 
longer  any  means  of  doing  that,  and  the  infamous 
Drouet  had  already  executed  his  measures  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  their  majesties.  He  had  barred  the 
bridge  over  which  it  was  necessary  to  pass  on  leav- 

25  ing  the  town  by  having  overturned  a  wagon  there 
loaded  with  furniture  which  happened  to  be  at 
hand,  and  he  had  warned  the  national  guard  of 
the  town  and  Sauce,  procureur  of  the  commune, 
of  the  arrival  of  the  king  and  the  necessity  of  stop- 

305 


The  French   Revolution 

ping  him.  He  had,  moreover,  associated  him  with 
one  named  Mangin,  an  ardent  patriot,  who  seconded 
him  perfectly.  He  had  drink  given  to  the  national 
guards  and  to  the  soldiers  who  were  in  the  town,  and 

s  he  had  the  dragoons  of  the  regiment  of  Monsieur, 
at  Clermont,  warned  to  oppose  the  demand  of  their 
colonel  to  protect  the  journey  of  the  king. 

Meanwhile  the  carriages  rolled  on,  but  as  soon 
as  that  of  the  women,  which  preceded  that  of  the 

io  king,  passed  in  front  of  the  house  of  Sauce,  it  was 
stopped,  and  they  were  obliged  to  dismount  to  have 
their  passports  vis6ed.  It  was  then  half  past  eleven 
at  night.  We  were  informed  of  what  was  going  on 
by  the  body  guards,  but  we  had  gone  too  far  into 

is  the  city  to  retreat,  and  we  continued  our  route.  A 
minute  later,  as  we  passed  under  an  arcade  which 
led  to  the  bridge  of  Varennes,  two  individuals  named 
Le  Blan  and  Poucin  stopped  the  carriage  and  threat- 
ened to  fire  upon  it  if  the  least  resistance  was  made. 

20  I  learned  this  last  circumstance  only  after  my  ar- 
rival in  Paris.  I  know  only  that  the  body  guards 
offered  to  employ  force  to  make  a  passage  for  the 
king,  but  that  this  prince  refused  to  allow  it.  The 
passports  were  called  for;   but,  although  they  were 

25  correct  in  form,   and  although  the  queen  begged 

them  to  make  haste  as  they  were  pressed  for  time, 

they  made  all  sorts  of  excuses  to  give  the  patriots 

of  the  city  and  the  environs  time  to  assemble. 

An  officer  approached  the  king's  carriage  and  said 

306 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

in  a  low  tone  that  there  was  a  ford,  and  offered  .to 
attempt  to  get  him  over  it;  but  the  king,  who  saw 
the  number  of  those  surrounding  the  carriage  in- 
crease each  minute,  and  noticed  to  what  a  point 

s  they  were  exasperated,  fearing  he  did  not  have  force 
enough,  and  that  he  might  uselessly  cause  a  mas- 
sacre, did  not  dare  to  give  the  order.  He  simply 
told  him  to  press  M.  de  Bouille  to  use  every  effort 
to  rescue  him  from  his  critical  position. 

io  The  alarm  bells  were  rung  in  and  around  Varennes, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  dissimulate  the  fact  that 
we  were  recognized.  For  a  long  time  the  king  would 
not  acknowledge  who  he  was  nor  leave  the  carriage ; 
but  the  insistence  became  so  pressing,  coupled  with 

is  the  promise  of  letting  us  go  if  everything  was  cor- 
rect after  the  examination  of  our  passports,  that  there 
was  no  further  way  of  avoiding  it.  The  king  en- 
tered into  the  house  of  Sauce,  procureur  of  the  com- 
mune,  and   went  upstairs  into  a   chamber,  where 

20  they  placed  the  children  upon  a  bed  that  was  there. 
Overcome  by  fatigue,  they  went  to  sleep  at  once. 
Their  sleep  was  calm  and  tranquil,  and  the  con- 
trast of  this  situation  with  that  of  their  unhappy 
parents  was  truly  heartbreaking. 

25  They  were  not  yet  quite  sure  at  Varennes  that  it 
was  the  king  and  the  royal  family  who  were  in  the 
house  of  Sauce,  but  Mangin,  who  knew  them,  went 
up  into  the  chamber  to  make  sure  of  it,  and  de- 
clared positively  that  it  was  the  king  and  his  family, 

307 


The  French  Revolution 

and  that  there  was  no  further  room  for  doubt. 
This  Mangin,  a  great  patriot,  and  others  like  him, 
had  hurried  to  all  the  neighboring  villages  and  had 
assembled  in  less  than  an  hour  four  thousand  national 

s  guards,  both  of  the  town  and  the  environs.  The 
king,  seeing  that  dissimulation  was  useless,  declared 
that  he  was  the  king,  that  he  had  quit  Paris  to  escape 
the  daily  insults  they  took  pleasure  in  heaping  upon 
him;   that  he  did  not  intend  to  leave  the  kingdom, 

io  but  that  he  wished  only  to  go  to  Montmedy  to  be 
in  a  better  position  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  move- 
ments across  the  border;  that  if  the  authorities  of 
Varennes  doubted  his  word,  he  would  consent  to 
be  accompanied  by  such  persons  as  they  might 

is  designate.  The  king  and  the  queen  employed  all 
possible  means  to  touch  their  hearts  and  to  arouse 
the  ancient  love  of  the  French  for  their  king.  They 
were  hearts  of  bronze  which  fear  alone  could  move. 
From  time  to  time  they  were  seized  by  the  fear  of 

20  the  arrival  of  Bouille,  and  then  begged  the  king  to 
protect  them,  and  left  it  uncertain  as  to  whether 
they  would  allow  him  to  continue  his  journey ;  these 
dispositions  changed  as  soon  as  they  were  given 
reasons  for  feeling  safe.  .  .  . 

25  MM.  Baillon  [Bayon]  and  de  Romeuf,  the  first 
commandant  of  a  battalion  of  the  national  guard  of 
Paris,  and  the  second  aide  de  camp  of  M.  de  La- 
fayette, arrived  at  Varennes  between  three  and  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning.     They  were  bearers  of  a 

308 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

decree  of  the  assembly  which  ordered  the  most 
prompt  and  active  measures  to  protect  the  security 
of  the  person  of  the  king,  of  the  dauphin,  of  the 
royal  family,  of  the  persons  by  which  they  were 

s  accompanied,  and  to  secure  their  return  to  Paris 
with  the  regard  due  to  the  royal  majesty.  This  same 
decree  named  as  commissioners  of  the  assembly  to 
execute  these  measures  MM.  Petion,  Barnave,  and 
de  La  Tour-Maubourg,  giving  them  power  to  employ 

io  the  national  guards,  the  troops  of  the  line,  and  the 
administrative  bodies  in  the  execution  of  their 
mission,  requiring  of  them  entire  obedience  to  the 
commissioners  in  the  execution  of  this  decree.  It 
enjoined,  furthermore,  the  arrest  of  M.  de  Bouille 

15  and  the  most  absolute  prohibition  to  any  body  of 
troops  whatsoever  to  execute  any  of  his  orders,  and 
named  M.  Dumas,  adjutant  of  the  army,  to  com- 
mand the  troops  which  should  escort  the  king  to 
Paris  and  to  execute  the  orders  he  might  receive 

20  from  the  commissioners. 

When  the  queen  saw  the  two  bearers  of  the  decree 
arrive,  who  had  always  posed  as  being  entirely  de- 
voted to  the  royal  family,  she  could  not  control  her 
indignation,  and  reproached  them  with  the  contrast 

as  between  their  conduct  and  their  daily  protestations. 
She  snatched  the  decree  from  their  hands  without 
wishing  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  it,  and  would  even 
have  torn  it  up  had  the  king  not  interfered ;  she  con- 
tented herself  with  throwing  it  scornfully  on  the 
21  309 


The  French  Revolution 

floor.  Romeuf,  who  still  had  a  remnant  of  shame 
which  made  him  blush  at  the  r61e  he  was  playing 
at  the  moment,  remained  silent.  But  Baillon 
[Bay on],  who  had  in  mind  only  the  recompense  he 

5  expected  as  the  price  of  his  mission,  only  sought  to 
deceive  the  king:  "Have  a  care,"  he  said,  "not  to 
create  a  feeling  of  uneasiness  by  remaining  too  long 
in  this  town."  And  when  the  king  objected  that, 
as  the  children  needed  rest,  he  would  remain  some 

io  time,  he  replied,  in  a  hypocritical  tone:  "Although 
your  Majesty  does  not  do  me  the  justice  to  believe 
that  I  accepted  the  mission  with  which  I  am  charged 
only  with  the  hope  of  being  useful  to  him,  I  am  going 
to  do  all  I  can  to  induce  this  crowd  to  respect  the 

is  sleep  of  the  dauphin  and  madame."  And  he  stirred 
them  up,  on  the  contrary,  to  hasten  the  departure 
of  the  king,  by  communicating  to  them  his  excessive 
fear  of  the  danger  they  would  run  if  M.  de  Bouille 
succeeded  in  rescuing  the  king.     The  night  passed 

20  very  sadly,  the  king  not  daring  to  adopt  the  plan 
of  employing  force  to  escape  from  his  cruel  situation, 
and  the  officers,  who  would  have  obeyed  at  peril  of 
their  lives,  not  thinking  they  could  take  any  decisive 
action  without  his  authorization.     It  might  have 

25  been  successful  when  he  was  first  arrested,  but  each 
instant  added  new  difficulties.  The  effervescence 
augmented  in  proportion  as  the  crowd  increased  in 
size,  to  which  the  most  improbable  news  was  re- 
ported in  order  to  excite  its  terror  and  fury. 

310 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

They  did  not  cease  to  press  the  king  to  depart. 
The  horses  were  put  to  the  coach;  the  clamors  re- 
doubled and  were  excited  by  the  fear  of  the  arrival 
of  M.  de  Bouille.     In  vain  the  queen  pointed  to  her 

s  sleeping  children  and  urged  the  need  they  had  of 
a  little  rest.  They  would  not  listen  to  reason,  and 
from  the  chamber  where  the  royal  family  was  one 
heard  this  frightful  populace  demand  with  loud  cries 
their  departure. 

io  After  eight  mortal  hours  of  waiting  at  Varennes 
M.  de  Bouille  did  not  arrive,  and  we  had  no  news 
from  him.  The  king,  seeing  no  possibility  of  escap- 
ing from  the  hands  of  this  multitude,  which  visibly 
increased  in  numbers,  did  not  believe  he  could  put 

is  off  his  departure  longer,  and  decided  to  return  to 
Paris. 

8.  Relation  du  voyage  de  Varennes,  adressie  par  un 
prtlat,  membre  de  VassembUe  constituante,  d  un 
ministre  en  pays  Granger;  in  Mtmoires  de  Weber, 

20  II,     62-151. 

Finally,  all  the  obstacles  having  been  overcome 
and  the  preparations  made,  the  night  of  the  twentieth 
to  the  twenty-first  of  June,  the  king  and  the  royal 
family,  having  supped  as  usual,  retired  about  half 
25  past  ten,  as  if  they  were  going  to  bed.  Shortly 
after  they  betook  themselves  to  the  apartments  of 
Madame  Royale,  where  Madame  de  Tourzel  brought 
the  young  prince,  and  they  prepared  to  leave  by  the 
chamber  of  which  I  have  spoken,  from  which  the 

3" 


The  French  Revolution 

queen  had  secretly  opened  a  door  into  the  unoccu- 
pied apartment  of  M.  le  Due  de  Villequier.  The 
king,  who  was  to  pass  for  the  valet  de  chambre  of 
Madame  de  KorfT,  had  a  gray  suit  and  a  peruke 

s  which  disguised  him  very  well ;  the  others  were 
dressed  very  simply.  I  have  heard  it  said,  but  I 
cannot  recall  by  whom,  that  for  several  days  before 
they  had  the  Chevalier  de  Coigny  go  out  at  night 
by  the  gate  of  the  court  opening  near  the  apartment 

io  of  M.  de  Villequier.  He  had  the  same  peruke  and 
the  same  suit  the  king  had  at  his  departure;  as  his 
figure  resembled  very  much  that  of  the  king,  this 
could  serve  to  prevent  the  king  from  being  recog- 
nized in  crossing  the  court  on  June  20th. 

is  Madame  Elizabeth  went  out  first  with  Madame 
Royale,  followed  at  a  short  distance  by  Madame 
de  Tourzel  leading  the  dauphin.  One  of  the  three 
body  guards  accompanied  her.  Either  accidentally 
or  purposely  one  of  the  sentinels  of  the  court  who 

20  in  pacing  his  round  crossed  the  path  the  two  prin- 
cesses would  be  obliged  to  take  turned  his  back 
at  the  moment  he  was  near  them  and  was  going  to 
meet  them.  Madame  Royale  noticed  it  and  said 
in  a  low  tone  to  Madame  Elizabeth,  "Aunt,  we  have 

25  been  recognized."  Yet  they  got  out  of  the  court 
without  being  noticed  and  went,  followed,  as  I 
have  already  said,  by  Madame  de  Tourzel,  across 
the  Petit  Carrousel  to  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de 
l'Echelle,  where  M.  de  Fersen  awaited  them  with  a 

312 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

carriage.  It  was  a  livery  carriage,  resembling  very 
much  in  form,  and  in  the  horses  which  drew  it,  what 
is  called  a  fiacre  in  Paris.  He  had  hired  it  in  a  re- 
mote quarter,  and  he  himself  served  as  coachman, 

s  dressed  as  coachmen  of  that  class  dress.  He  was  so 
well  disguised  that  while  he  waited,  having  in  his 
carriage  the  two  princesses,  the  dauphin  and  Madame 
de  Tourzel,  an  empty  fiacre  having  stopped  near  him, 
the  coachman,  who  thought  he  was  talking  to  one 

io  of  his  comrades,  opened  a  conversation  with  him 
upon  matters  people  of  that  class  would  talk  about. 
It  lasted  quite  a  long  time,  and  M.  de  Fersen  did 
his  part  with  great  presence  of  mind,  talking  in  the 
jargon  of  coachmen  in  order  not  to  make  his  fellow 

is  driver  suspicious.  He  got  rid  of  him  after  having 
given  him  a  pinch  of  snuff  from  a  very  shabby  snuff- 
box he  had.  Shortly  after  that  the  king  arrived 
accompanied  by  the  second  body  guard.  There  was 
quite  a  long  interval  between  his  exit  and  that  of 

20  the  first  group,  but  it  was  not  less  fortunate,  although, 
one  of  the  buckles  of  his  shoe  having  broken,  very 
close  to  the  sentinel  of  the  gate  of  the  Carrousel,  he 
was  obliged  to  fix  it  almost  under  his  eyes.  The 
queen,  who  was  to  come  out  last,  made  them  wait 

25  more  than  a  half  hour  and  rendered  the  travelers 
very  uneasy.  They  had  given  her  the  third  body 
guard  to  accompany  her,  and  he  gave  her  his  arm. 
All  went  well  up  to  the  great  gate  of  the  Royal 
Court,  but  as  they  were  about  to  leave  it  they  saw 

3^3 


The  French   Revolution 

the  carriage  of  M.  de  Lafayette  coming  with  torches 
and  his  usual  guards.  He  was  going  home  and  was 
crossing  the  Royal  Court  to  reach  the  Pont  Royal. 
The  queen  had  a  hat  which  covered  her  face.     The 

s  night  was  very  dark.  She  stood  close  to  the  wall 
to  let  the  carriage  of  M.  de  Lafayette  pass.  After 
having  escaped  this  danger  she  told  the  body  guard 
to  take  her  across  to  the  Petit  Carrousel  to  the  corner 
of  the  Rue  de  l'Echelle — that  is  to  say,  two  hundred 

io  feet  from  the  place  where  she  was.  Her  guide  was 
even  less  acquainted  with  Paris  than  she  was.  It 
was  too  dangerous  to  ask  the  way  so  close  to  the 
door  of  the  Tuileries.  They  turned  by  chance 
to  the  right,  when  they  should  have  turned  to  the 

is  left,  passed  the  wickets  of  the  Louvre,  crossed  the 
Pont  Royal,  and  wandered  a  long  time  along  the 
quays  and  in  the  Rue  de  Bac.  They  were  at  last 
forced  to  ask  their  way.  A  sentinel  on  the  bridge 
told   them.     They    were   obliged    to   retrace    their 

20  steps,  repass  the  wickets  of  the  Louvre,  cross  the 
courts  of  the  Tuileries  to  reach  the  Rue  de  l'Echelle. 
They  finally  got  to  the  carriage  without  any  other 
accident  than  the  time  lost,  but  that  was  a  real  one, 
for  the  value  of  each  minute  was  incalculable. 

as  All  the  illustrious  caravan  being  united,  they  set 
out  to  join  the  carriage  which  awaited  them  beyond 
the  barrier  Saint-Martin.  It  was  drawn  by  six 
horses  with  a  postilion  of  M.  de  Fersen  who  was  a 
stranger,  not  knowing  a  word  of  French  and  igno- 

3H 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

rant  concerning  whom  he  was  going  to  conduct. 
M.  de  Fersen  did  not  dare  to  drive  his  livery  car- 
riage by  the  shortest  route  because  he  did  not  know 
Paris  well  enough  to  run  the  risk  of  passing  through 

s  the  center  of  this  immense  city  at  night.  He 
thought  it  safer  to  go  down  the  Rue  Saint-Honore 
and  to  make  the  tour  of  the  boulevards.  He  ar- 
rived safely  at  the  rendezvous.  All  passed  from  the 
hired  carriage  into  the  traveling  coach,  the  body 

10  guards  mounting  upon  the  seat  or  behind.  M.  de 
Fersen  continued  to  serve  as  coachman,  the  first  two 
horses  being  guided  by  his  postilion.  As  to  the 
hired  carriage,  it  was  left  all  harnessed  in  the  high- 
way, with  nobody  to  watch  it  or  take  it  back  to  its 

is  owner. 

In  less  than  two  hours  they  reached  Claye,  which 
is  the  second  post  house  on  the  route  to  Chalons, 
about  six  leagues  from  Paris.  There  one  of  the  ser- 
vants of  M.  de  Fersen  waited  for  him  with  a  cabriolet 

20  and  two  horses  to  take  him  back  to  Paris.  Although 
the  carriage  of  the  king  was  new,  it  was  necessary 
to  make  some  repairs  at  Claye,  with  further  loss  of 
time.  It  will  be  seen  later  what  the  consequence  of 
of  all  these  delays  was.  .  .  . 

25  Meanwhile  the  king  and  the  royal  family  continued 
their  route  toward  Chalons  without  obstacle  and  with- 
out stopping  even  to  eat,  having  brought  in  the  car- 
riage everything  necessary  for  that.  Their  passports 
were  called  for  nowhere,  and  there  was  no  objection 

3i5 


The  French  Revolution 

to  furnishing  them  horses.  Thus  they  arrived  at 
Chalons  about  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  twenty-first.  [There  a  man  who  thought  he 
recognized   the   king   reported   the   matter   to   the 

s  mayor,  and  suggested  that  the  carriage  be  stopped. 
The  mayor  pointed  out  the  consequences  that  would 
follow  if  he  were  mistaken,  and  the  man,  acknowl- 
edging that  he  might  be  wrong,  decided  to  keep 
silent.]     Escaped  from  this  danger,   the  king  had 

io  passed  Chalons  when,  the  carriage  having  stopped 
for  a  moment  on  the  highway,  an  unknown  person, 
clothed  like  a  bourgeois,  drew  near,  put  his  head  in 
at  the  door  next  to  Madame  de  Tourzel,  and  said 
quite  loud:    "Your  plan  has  miscarried.     You  will 

is  be  stopped."  He  went  off  at  once  without  giving 
time  to  learn  his  name  or  who  he  was.  .  .  . 

Everything  had  been  calculated  to  the  minute  in 
the  journey  of  the  king,  and  his  passage  at  Pont-de- 
Sommevesle  was  set  down  for  three  o'clock  in  the 

20  afternoon.  It  was  long  past  this  hour,  and  not  only 
had  the  king  not  passed,  but  one  of  the  three  cour- 
iers who  ought  always,  in  the  arrangements  agreed 
upon,  to  precede  the  carriage  by  two  hours  had  not 
appeared.     According  to  this  circumstance,  a  delay 

as  of  an  hour  in  the  appearance  of  the  king  represented 
a  delay  of  three  in  the  journey.  Between  five  and 
six  o'clock  he  was  four  or  five  hours  late,  and  could 
not  be  expected  before  eight.  MM.  de  Choiseul 
and  Goguelat  were  not  only  very  uneasy,  but  they 

316 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

found  themselves  in  a  terrible  position.  The  sight 
of  these  hussars,  waiting  so  long  at  their  post,  had 
caused  a  crowd  to  gather  at  Pont-de-Sommevesle. 
The  report  went  about  that  the  arrival  of  a  pre- 

s  tended  treasure  they  were  to  escort  was  only  a  pre- 
text. Chalons,  which  was  below  Pont-de-Som- 
mevesle, sent  national  guards  to  inquire  the  cause  of 
these  detachments.  Sainte-Menehould,  which  was 
above  it,  and  where  the  excitement  had  increased 

io  since  the  previous  evening,  sent  its  deputation. 
There  was  talk  of  ringing  the  alarm  bell  to  call  in 
the  country  people,  and  already  some  bells  had 
sounded  their  first  note.  MM.  de  Choiseul  and 
Goguelat  talked  together  in  a  low  tone  in  the  pres- 

is  ence  of  the  crowd  which  watched  all  their  movements. 
Had  the  king,  who  had  already  once  postponed  his 
departure  from  Paris  for  twenty-four  hours,  post- 
poned it  again?  Had  he  set  out  and  been  stopped 
on  the  way?     In  that  case  it  was  useless  to  incite  a 

20  sedition  to  no  purpose  and  cause  the  loss  of  a  de- 
tachment. Was  it  possible  he  might  still  arrive 
that  evening?  In  that  case  it  would  render  his 
arrest  certain,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  giving  him 
up  instead  of  escorting  him,  to  call  together  upon  his 

25  route  all  the  communes  of  the  environs,  summoned 
by  the  alarm  bell  and  filled  with  a  suspicion  that 
would  soon  degenerate  into  fury.  As  the  two  leaders 
were  struck  by  this  idea  a  man  in  the  crowd  which 
surrounded  their  horses  observed  that  that  morn- 

3i7 


The  French   Revolution 

ing  a  diligence  had  passed  which  seemed  very  heavily 
loaded.  Another  replied  that  it  carried  a  lot  of 
money.  M.  de  Choiseul  picked  up  this  remark  and 
asked  of  the  one  who  had  just  made  it  if  he  was  sure 

5  of  what  he  said.  He  replied  in  the  affirmative. 
"Why  did  you  not  tell  me  that  three  hours  ago?" 
replied  M.  de  Choiseul.  Then  addressing  M.  de 
Goguelat,  still  in  a  loud  voice,  he  said :  "It  is  clear 
that  the  diligence  has  got  ahead  of  us.     The  money 

10  we  were  to  escort  has  passed.  We  have  nothing 
more  to  do  here."  These  words  had  a  magical 
effect.  The  excitement  died  out,  the  alarm  bell 
ceased,  the  crowd  scattered.  MM.  de  Choiseul  and 
Goguelat  withdrew  peaceably   from   Pont-de-Som- 

is  mevesle  with  their  troops. 

They  went  as  slowly  as  possible,  halting  frequent- 
ly in  order  to  conserve  all  their  chances  to  the  last 
moment.  Finally,  having  marched  thus  for  a  long 
time  without  being  overtaken  by  the  king's  coach 

20  or  by  his  courier,  they  did  not  doubt  that  the  proj- 
ect had  been  at  least  put  off  till  the  next  day.  Then, 
fearing  to  renew  the  tumult  excited  the  previous 
evening  by  their  presence  at  Sainte-Menehould, 
knowing,  furthermore,  that  this  post  and  that  of 

25  Clermont  were  sufficiently  guarded,  unless  an  ex- 
traordinary crisis  arose,  they  decided  to  go  around 
this  city,  instead  of  passing  through  it,  and  reach 
Varennes  by  the  shortest  road  across  the  woods  of 
Clermont.  .  .  . 

3i8 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

About  an  hour  after  the  detachment  of  Pont-de- 
Sommevesle  had  set  out,  the  coach  of  the  king  ar- 
rived there  almost  at  the  same  time  as  his  courier, 
who  along  the  entire  route  did  not  precede  him  more 

s  than  five  minutes ;  a  capital  fault.  The  king  changed 
horses  peaceably  and  reached  Sainte-Menehould. 
The  courier,  generally  too  late,  arrived  too  soon 
in  this  last  town.  For  during  the  five  minutes  he 
was  there  before  the  king  he  blundered  about  the 

io  location  of  the  post,  was  obliged  to  retrace  his  steps 
into  the  town,  to  question  on  this  side  and  that  to 
find  his  way,  and  excited  public  attention,  already 
too  wide  awake.  The  people  of  Sainte-Menehould 
were  in  a  bad  humor.     [The  presence  of  the  dra- 

15  goons,  the  fact  that  they  saluted  the  king's  carriage 
as  it  passed,  and  the  queen  returned  the  salute 
"with  her  usual  air  of  grace  and  kindness,"  aroused 
their  suspicions.]  A  few  moments  more  and  the 
king  would  have  had  difficulty  in  getting  out  of  the 

20  town.  But  the  presence  of  the  dragoons  still  had 
a  restraining  influence;  the  horses  were  changed; 
the  carriage  departed. 

It  was  while  it  stopped  that  the  king,  putting  his 
head  out  of  the  door  too  frequently,  was  noticed  by 

25  the  son  of  the  postmaster,  a  very  warm  patriot  named 
Drouet.  This  Drouet  had  seen  the  king  at  the 
federation  the  preceding  year.  To  satisfy  himself 
that  he  was  not  mistaken,  he  took  a  piece  of  paper 
money  bearing  a  very  good  portrait  of  the  king  and 

3i9 


The  French  Revolution 

compared  it  for  some  time  with  the  face  he  had  be- 
fore his  eyes.  The  attention  he  was  giving  the 
matter  was  so  marked  that  it  attracted  the  notice 
of  the  queen  and  redoubled  her  uneasiness.     It  was 

s  a  quarter  to  eight. 

However  certain  Drouet  was  that  the  king  was 
in  the  carriage,  he  did  not  dare  to  give  the  alarm  at 
Sainte-Menehould,  either  on  account  of  the  fear  of 
the  dragoons  or  because  the  departure  of  the  coach 

io  prevented  it.  But  he  made  up  his  mind  to  follow 
it,  to  have  it  stopped  when  he  should  find  it  possible. 
He  communicated  his  discovery  and  his  resolution 
to  his  wife,  who  said  and  did  all  she  could  do  to  dis- 
suade him,  but  in  vain.     He  mounted  his  horse  and 

is  followed  the  coach.  .  .  . 

At  a  certain  distance  from  Clermont,  where  the 
road  divides  into  two,  one  of  which  leads  to  Verdun 
and  the  other  to  Varennes,  the  king  gave  the  order 
to  take  the  second.     He  had  been  gone  some  time 

20  when  Drouet  arrived  at  the  same  place.  Not  doubt- 
ing that  the  king  was  going  to  Verdun,  he  took  with- 
out hesitation  the  road  which  goes  there.  Prob- 
ably he  would  not  have  noticed  his  mistake  in  time 
if  he  had  not  encountered  by  accident  a  postilion 

as  who  was  returning  from  conducting  a  courier  to 
Verdun.  He  asked  him  if  he  had  not  seen  a  coach 
with  six  horses  going  to  Verdun,  and  if  it  was  far 
ahead.  Upon  the  reply  of  the  postilion  that  he 
had  seen  nothing,  he  did  not  doubt  that  it  had  taken 

320 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

the  road  to  Varennes  and  he  must  endeavor  to  arrive 
there  before  it.  Instead  of  retracing  his  steps  he 
took  a  cross-road  which  led  very  directly  to  Varennes, 
and  he  rode  so  rapidly  he  arrived  there  before  the 

s  king.  .  .  .  The  king  arrived  at  about  eleven  o'clock 
at  night.  The  house  where  the  post  horses  were  to 
be  had  been  so  well  described  to  him  that  he  found 
it  easily.  He  knocked  on  the  door  and  asked  for 
his  horses.     They  could  give  him  no  information 

10  about  them.  Seeing  nobody  who  could  give  him 
any  information,  he  entered  the  upper  city  and  got 
out  with  the  queen.  She  knocked  at  several  doors 
on  the  pretext  of  asking  information  about  the  re- 
lay, but  in  reality  to  see  if  by  accident  she  might  not 

is  encounter  some  of  the  people  who  were  to  meet  her 
at  Varennes.  All  her  investigations  were  in  vain. 
No  one  of  those  employed  in  this  little  town  had 
thought  of  having  somebody  on  the  side  by  which 
the  king  would  enter  in  order  to  inform  him.     Their 

20  majesties,  after  having  walked  about  in  the  upper 
city  for  some  time,  proposed  to  the  postilions  to  go 
on.  They  objected  on  the  ground  that  their  horses 
were  worn  out  and  could  not  go  farther  without  food 
and  rest.     After  this  discussion,  which  lasted  some 

25  time,  the  king  succeeded  in  getting  them  to  consent 
to  take  him  to  the  other  side  of  the  bridge.  He  got 
into  the  coach  with  the  queen. 

Meanwhile  Drouet,  who  reached  Varennes  a  little 
before  the  carriage,  had  not  lost  a  moment  in  put- 

321 


The  French   Revolution 

ting  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  passage.  His  first 
care  had  been  to  instruct  the  procureur  of  the  com- 
mune, named  Sauce,  and  to  induce  him  to  have  the 
king  stopped.     He  had  no  difficulty  in  persuading 

s  him.  This  Sauce  was  a  kind  of  revolutionary 
fanatic,  but  was  not  lacking  in  ability.  He  sent  at 
once  orders  to  assemble  the  national  guard  of 
Varennes  and  to  surround  the  convent  of  the  Cor- 
deliers where  the  sixty  hussars  were.     He  sent  at  the 

io  same  time  emissaries  to  notify  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages round  about,  in  order  to  bring  the  national 
guards  of  these  places  to  Varennes,  and  despatched 
couriers  to  Verdun  and  Sedan  for  the  same  purpose. 
Meanwhile  Drouet,  aided  by  two  or  three  deter- 

is  mined  men,  one  of  whom  was  named  Billaud,  the 
same  who  was  so  well  known  later  for  his  fury  in 
the  convention,  overturned  heavy  wagons  to  bar 
the  bridge  and  thus  place  an  invincible  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  the  passage  of  the  king  if  he  attempted 

20  to  force  it.  That  done,  he  and  his  comrades,  well 
armed,  placed  themselves  in  ambuscade  under  an 
archway  by  which  it  was  necessary  to  pass  before 
reaching  the  bridge  and  in  a  place  most  suitable  for 
stopping  the  coach.     All  these  steps  were  taken  in 

25  such  profound  silence  that  neither  the  hussars  nor 
their  officers  nor  the  persons  sent  by  M.  de  Bouille 
knew  anything  about  it. 

When  the  carriage  was  under  the  archway  it  was 
stopped  by  Drouet  and  his  people  on  the  pretext 

322 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

of  having  the  passports  of  the  travelers  viseed  by 
the  municipality  of  Varennes  and  of  having  their 
persons  identified.  Drouet  did  not  let  a  word  es- 
cape him  which  could  let  it  be  known  that  it  was  the 

5  king ;  two  loaded  muskets  were  crossed  at  each  of  the 
doors  of  the  coach.  Drouet  enjoined  the  travelers 
very  brutally  to  go  to  the  procureur  of  the  commune, 
whose  house  was  near  by.  It  is  even  said  that  he 
laid  hands  on  the  king.     His  majesty  believed  that 

io  all  resistance  was  useless,  and,  hoping  still  that  he 
was  not  or  would  not  be  recognized,  or  at  least  could 
be  rescued  by  force  from  the  danger  in  which  he 
and  his  family  found  themselves,  he  consented  to 
follow  Drouet.     Sauce  had  the  air  of  taking  them 

is  for  simple  travelers,  asked  for  their  passports,  and 
appeared  to  find  them  perfectly  regular.  He  then 
said  to  them  that  their  horses  could  not  go  farther 
without  food,  but  as  that  would  take  some  time,  he 
begged  them  to  rest  themselves  in  his  house,  where 

20  they  would  be  more  comfortable  than  in  the  coach. 
There  was  no  way  of  escape.  All  the  family  were 
received  in  a  room  on  the  ground  floor,  through  the 
door  of  which  they  could  see  everything  passing  in 
the  street.     It  was  there  the  queen  placed  herself. 

as  It  did  not  take  her  long  to  discover  that  each  minute 
the  crowd  was  increasing  outside  and  that  the  house 
was  invested.  She  no  longer  doubted,  then,  that 
they  had  been  arrested  and  recognized.  .  .  .  When 
Sauce  felt  sure  that  the  national  guards  were  numer- 

323 


The  French   Revolution 

ous  enough  not  to  let  their  prey  escape  he  raised 
the  mask  and  said  aloud  to  the  king  that  he  knew 
who  he  was.  He  reproached  him  very  bitterly  for 
his  flight,  against  his  word,  he  said,  to  go  into  a 

5  foreign  country  and  to  make  war  upon  his  people. 
He  then  declared  he  arrested  him  in  the  name  of 
the  nation,  and  that  he  was  going  to  have  him  con- 
ducted to  Paris  under  a  strong  guard.  The  king 
sought  at  first  to  deny  that  he  was  king,  which  led 

10  to  an  altercation  in  which  Sauce  and  those  with 
him  overstepped  more  and  more  the  bounds  of  re- 
spect. The  queen  then  approached  and  put  an  end 
to  it,  saying  in  a  firm  tone,  "If  you  recognize  him 
as  your  king,  speak  to  him  with  the  respect  which 

is  is  due  him."  .  .  . 

It  was  only  then  that  the  aide  de  camp,  Romeuf, 
reached  Varennes,  at  six  in  the  morning,  conse- 
quently seven  hours  after  the  arrest  of  the  king. 
He  entered  the  town,  passing  between  two  rows  of 

20  national  guards  drawn  up  on  both  sides  of  the  road 
and  which  extended  each  minute  on  account  of  the 
arrival  of  new  reinforcements.  At  Sauce's  door  he 
found  the  coach  with  six  horses  harnessed  to  it, 
turned  toward  the  Avenue  de  Paris  and  surrounded 

as  by  an  escort  which  was  to  conduct  the  prisoner 
monarch.  Entering  the  house  with  shame  and 
grief,  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  Sauce  the  decree  of 
the  national  assembly.  .  .  .  [Romeuf  tried  to  justify 
his  conduct  and  to  defend  Lafayette,  saying  that  he 

324 


The  Flight  of  the  King 

was  not  the  enemy  of  the  king  and  his  family.] 
"He  is,"  said  the  queen;  "he  has  in  his  head  only 
his  United  States  and  the  American  republic.  He 
will  see  what  a  French  republic  is.     Well,  sir,"  she 

5  continued,  "show  me  this  decree  of  which  you  are 
the  bearer."  Romeuf  gave  her  a  copy  of  it.  "The 
insolent  [creatures],"  said  the  queen,  while  reading 
it;  and  without  having  read  to  the  end  she  cast  it 
from  her.     The  paper  fell  on  the  bed  where  the 

io  dauphin  and  his  sister  were  sleeping.  The  queen 
snatched  it  up  and  threw  it  on  the  floor,  saying,  "It 
would  soil  the  bed  of  my  children." 

22 


APPENDIX 


DEFINITIONS 


A.  History  is  the  science  of  the  unique  evolution  of  man 
in  his  activities  as  a  social  being. 

B.  Historical  sources  are  the  results  of  man's  social 
activities.  They  are  subdivided  into  remains  and  tradi- 
tions. Remains  are  the  material  products  of  man's 
activities — weapons,  instruments,  food,  clothing,  build- 
ings, etc. — fitted  because  of  their  origin  to  be  used  as 
evidence  concerning  man's  social  past,  but  not  intended 
for  such  use  at  the  time  of  their  origin.  Tradition  is  the 
record  by  an  eye  or  ear  witness  of  what  he  has  seen  or 
heard.  It  may  take  an  oral,  a  written,  or  a  pictorial 
form.  The  record  does  not  contain  the  fact,  but  the 
affirmation  of  the  witness  concerning  what  he  believed 
the  fact  to  be.  Between  every  historical  fact  and  every 
tradition  stands  at  least  one  human  brain.  How  far  the 
affirmation  differs  from  the  fact  depends  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  brain  through  which  it  has  passed. 

C.  An  affirmation  is  a  statement  by  a  single  source  con- 
cerning a  fact.     It  may  be  true,  it  may  be  false. 

D.  A  fact  is  established  by  the  agreement  of  two  or 
more  independent  sources,  provided  the  witnesses  are  not 
self -deceived. 

327 


The  French   Revolution 

E.  Historical  method  is  the  system  of  rules  and  artifices 
employed  by  the  historian  in  his  attempt  to  trace  the 
unique  evolution  of  man  in  his  activities  as  a  social  being 
by  a  study  of  the  sources. 


II 

OUTLINE   OF  HISTORICAL  METHOD 

A.  Choice  of  a  Subject  for  Investigation. 

i.  Choose  a  subject  that  has  not  been  investigated;  or 
2.  That  needs  to  be  investigated  anew  because  of 

a.  The  discovery  of  new  sources;  or  because 

b.  The  old  construction  was   uncritical;   or   be- 

cause of 

c.  The  possibility  of  a  new  grouping  of  the  facts. 

B.  The  Material. 
i.  Bibliography. 

a.  Sources, 
(i)  Printed. 

(2)  Manuscript. 

b.  Secondary  works  based  on  sources. 
2.  Classification  of  the  sources. 

a.  Remains. 

b.  Tradition. 

(1)  Oral. 

(2)  Written. 

(3)  Pictorial. 

C.  The  Reconstruction  of  the  Past  from  the  Sources. 

1.  Reading  secondary  works  and  sources. 

2.  Establishment  of  the  facts, 
a.  Criticism  of  the  sources. 

(1)  Proof  of  genuineness. 
328 


Appendix 

(2)  Localization. 

(a)  Who  was  the  writer? 

(b)  When  was  the  source  written? 

(c)  Where  was  it  written? 

(3)  Evaluation  of  the  sources. 

(4)  Proof  that  the  sources  are  independent, 
b.  Comparison  of  affirmations  to  establish  facts. 

(1)  Gathering  affirmations  on  same  fact. 

(2)  Interpreting    and    comparing    independent 

affirmations  to  determine  what  the  fact  is. 

3.  Synthesis.  Outline  or  grouping  of  the  facts. 

4.  Exposition  or  narrative  based  on  outline. 

a.  The  text. 

b.  The  notes. 


Ill 

ILLUSTRATION      OF      THE      APPLICATION      OF      METHOD 

A.  The  subject  selected  for  investigation  is  "The  Oath 
of  the  Tennis  Court,"  one  of  the  most  important  events 
of  the  early  French  revolution,  and  calling  for  investiga- 
tion on  all  three  of  the  grounds  given  in  the  outline  of 
method. 

B.  The  sources  for  the  study  are  given  in  the  critical 
bibliography.  Although  comprising  more  material  than 
has  ever  yet  been  used  by  any  writer  on  this  subject,  it 
is  not  exhaustive.  More  material  could  doubtless  be 
found  in  the  manuscript  letters  of  deputies,  preserved  in 
departmental  and  city  archives  in  France,  and  in  the 
manuscript  letters  of  the  Austrian,  Saxon,  Prussian, 
Neapolitan  and  Spanish  ambassadors  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  respective  countries.     Something  could 

329 


The  French   Revolution 

probably  be  found  also  in  pamphlets  and  in  the  Paris 
letter  of  the  foreign  newspaper,  the  Gazette  de  Leyde.  An 
examination  of  London  papers  might  bring  to  light 
letters  from  Paris  correspondents.  The  sources  in  our 
collection  are  wholly  written  tradition  and  twelve  in  num- 
ber: one  is  an  official  document — Proce s-verbal;  two  are 
daily  papers;  four  are  letters — two  by  members  of  the 
assembly  and  two  by  ambassadors;  one  is  a  journal  or 
diary;  two  are  Memoir es;  and  two  are  contemporary  his- 
tories. All  were  written  by  men  who  were  in  Paris  or 
Versailles  on  June  20,  1789. 

C.  1.  Reading  secondary  works  and  sources. 

A  general  conception  of  the  whole  topic  can  be  ob- 
tained by  reading  the  sources,  one  after  another,  taking 
notes  upon  them,  and  by  reading  one  or  more  secondary 
accounts.  The  secondary  accounts  may  be  read  first. 
As  but  little  has  been  written  in  English  on  the  subject, 
little  time  need  be  given  to  the  secondary  works.  The 
Cambridge  Modern  History  (VIII,  155)  contains  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  event  we  are  studying:  "He 
[Louis  XVL]  resolved  to  hold  a  "royal  session"  and  to 
command  the  estates  to  lose  no  further  time  in  con- 
troversy. For  this  purpose  preparations  in  the  Salle  des 
Menus  Plaisirs  were  needful,  and  the  sittings  of  the 
assembly  would  have  to  be  interrupted.  But  instead  of 
giving  formal  notice  to  Bailly  as  president,  the  ministers, 
with  discourteous  folly,  sent  the  workmen  into  the  hall  on 
June  20th  and  caused  placards  to  be  posted  announcing 
the  2 2d  as  the  day  of  the  royal  session.  Only  at  the  last 
moment  did  De  Br£ze\  Grand  Master  of  the  Ceremonies, 
inform  Bailly  by  letter  that  he  was  about  to  proclaim  the 
royal  session  by  the  voice  of  heralds.  Bailly  took  no 
heed,  but  went  with  the  deputies  to  their  accustomed 
hall,  and,  finding  the  doors  shut,  adjourned  with  them  to 

33o 


Appendix 

a  neighboring  tennis  court.  There  the  deputies,  incensed 
at  the  discourtesy  with  which  they  had  been  treated,  and 
suspecting  a  revolution  on  the  part  of  the  government  to 
interrupt  their  sittings  or  even  to  dissolve  their  assembly, 
acclaimed  Mourner's  proposal  that  they  should  take  a 
solemn  oath  not  to  separate  until  the  constitution  had 
been  established.  Only  a  single  deputy,  a  certain  Martin 
of  Auch,  refused  to  swear;  and  the  Oath  of  the  Tennis 
Court  became  one  of  the  most  memorable  incidents  of  the 
French  Revolution." 

2.  Establishment  of  the  facts. 

a.  Criticism  of  the  sources.  Each  source  should  be 
criticized.     Let  the  Proces-verbal  serve  as  an  example: 

( i )  Genuineness.  The  original  manuscript  of  the  Proces- 
verbal,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  secretary  Camus,  is  in 
the  national  archives  in  Paris. 

(2)  Localization,  (a)  Writer.  The  Proces-verbal  was 
written  by  Camus,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  assembly, 
an  eye-witness  whose  business  it  was  to  take  notes  on 
the  spot  and  give  a  faithful  account  of  what  took  place, 
(b)  Time  of  writing.  The  first  part  was  written  before 
10.30  on  the  morning  of  June  20th.  The  proof  is  found 
in  the  statement  on  page  21,  lines  15-18:  "The  president 
gave  an  account  of  the  facts  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  this 
day  and  had  the  minutes  read."  The  minutes  must  have 
been  written  at  the  time,  otherwise  they  could  not  have 
been  read.  The  second  part  must  have  been  completed 
after  the  adjournment  at  six  o'clock,  (c)  Where  written. 
This  first  part,  probably  in  the  tennis  court,  as  on  page 
19,  lines  18-21,  of  the  Proces-verbal,  is  the  statement  that 
"the  president  and  the  two  secretaries  having  gone  out, 
they  betook  themselves  to  the  tennis  court  in  Tennis 
Court  Street,  where  the  members  of  the  assembly  suc- 
cessively gathered,"  and  this  must  have  been  written 

33i 


The  French  Revolution 

after  they  reached  the  tennis  court.  The  part  preceding 
that  may  have  been  written  before  going  there,  but  it  is 
not  probable.  See  what  Bailly  says,  page  40,  line  3,  and 
page  42,  lines  1-4.  The  second  Prod  s-verbal  for  the  20th 
was,  doubtless,  written  in  the  same  place. 

(3)  Evaluation  of  the  source.  The  source  is  valuable  as  a 
whole  because:  (a)  it  is  the  official  minutes  of  the  assem- 
bly; (b)  the  writer  was  the  secretary,  Camus,  a  man  of 
good  natural  ability  and  training:  and  (c)  it  was  written 
where  the  events  occurred  and  at  the  time  of  the  occurrence. 

(4)  Independence.  A  comparison  of  the  text  of  the 
Proces-verbal  with  that  of  the  Point  du  jour  and  of  the 
Memoires  of  Bailly  will  show  that  the  account  of  the 
Point  du  jour  has,  with  some  exceptions,  the  same  facts 
in  the  same  order  and  generally  in  the  same  language, 
and  that  this  is  also  true  of  a  part  of  Bailly's  account. 
Compare  the  text  of  the  Proces-verbal  and  the  Point  du 
jour  line  by  line,  writing  down  the  passages  found  in  the 
same  form,  or  nearly  the  same  form,  in  both.  Do  the 
same  thing  for  the  Proces-verbal  and  Bailly.  Here  are 
clear  examples  of  dependence.  Which  is  the  original 
and  which  the  copies?  We  can  dispose  of  Bailly  at  once. 
He  did  not  write  until  1792;  the  Proces-verbal  could  not 
have  copied  his  Memoires,  hence  he  must  have  copied  the 
Proces-verbal.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that, 
although  Bailly  copied  portions  of  the  Proces-verbal,  he 
was  president  of  the  assembly  and  an  eye-witness,  and 
his  account  contains  matter  not  found  in  the  other 
sources,  probably  drawn  from  memory.  The  Point  du 
jour  must  have  copied  the  Proces-verbal,  for  the  Proces- 
verbal  was  in  print  and  accessible  to  the  public  on  June 
21st  (see  page  29,  line  9,  "Finally  the  printing  of  the 
minutes  and  the  decree  of  this  day  was  ordered,  that  they 
might  be  made  public  the  next  day  "),  and  the  Point  du 

332 


Appendix 

jour  was  not  in  print  before  June  2  2d  (see  page  29,  line  12, 
at  the  end  of  the  Point  du  jour,  "Yesterday,  Sunday,  no 
session."  Sunday  was  the  21st,  hence  Monday,  the  day 
on  which  the  Point  du  jour  was  written,  must  have  been 
the  22d).  The  Prods-verbal,  then,  is  independent  of  the 
other  sources,  but  portions  of  the  Point  du  jour  and  of 
the  M&moires  of  Bailly  are  drawn  from  the  Proces-verbal, 
although  Bailly  and  Bar£re  are  witnesses  and  report 
matter  not  found  in  the  Proces-verbal.  It  should  be  noted, 
further,  that  Young  and  the  Bailli  de  Virieu  were  prob- 
ably not  in  Versailles  on  June  20th,  and  simply  repeated 
what  they  learned  in  Paris.  All  the  other  seven  were  in 
Versailles,  and  all  except  Lehodey,  editor  of  the  Assem- 
ble nationale,  were  members  of  the  assembly. 

b.  Comparison  of  affirmations. 

(1)  Gathering  affirmations.  As  an  illustration  of  the 
gathering  of  affirmations  let  us  take  the  episode  of  the 
closing  of  the  hall  on  the  morning  of  June  20th  and  the 
guarding  of  it  by  soldiers.  How  many  of  the  sources 
mention  this  episode,  and  what  do  they  say?  There  are 
nine  of  them,  and  they  say: 

•  Proces-verbal  (page  18,  lines  3-7),  "At  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning  .  .  .  they  found  it  guarded  by  soldiers." 

Point  du  jour  (page  23,  lines  2 1-27), "  At  a  very  early  hour 
.  .  .  but  the  military  force  already  prohibited  entrance." 

Assemblee  nationale  (page  29,  line  14;  page  30,  line  4), 
"They  were  on  their  way  ...  at  the  hour  indicated.  .  .  . 
The  deputies  found  there  French  guards." 

Bailly,  Memoir es  (page  37,  line  21),  "I  was  informed 
that  it  was  surrounded  by  French  guards." 

Duquesnoy,  journal  (page  49,  line  15),  "Yesterday  .  .  . 
he  found  it  guarded  by  soldiers." 

Young,  Travels  in  France  (page  53,  line  4),  "The  French 
guards  were  placed  with  bayonets." 

333 


The  French   Revolution 

Mourner,  Recherches  (page  56,  lines  4,  10),  "Repulsed 
by  armed  men  .  .  .  closed  by  military  force." 

Rabaut,  Precis  (page  60,  line  14),  "The  doors  closed 
and  guarded  by  soldiers." 

Bailli  de  Virieu,  Correspondance  (page  62,  line  2),  "The 
door  of  the  hall  of  the  estates  barred  by  French  and  Swiss 
guards." 

(2)  Interpreting  and  comparing  affirmations.  Keeping 
in  mind  how  many  of  these  affirmations  were  made  by 
eye-witnesses,  and  how  many  of  them  by  independent 
witnesses,  we  compare  them  to  determine  what  the  facts 
were  with  the  following  results: 

(a)  The  hall  was  guarded  by  troops.  This  is  affirmed 
by  all  the  seven  witnesses  and  by  the  two — Young  and 
Virieu — who  evidently  reported  what  they  had  heard. 
Three,  at  least,  of  the  sources — Proce  s-verbal,  Assemblee 
nationale,  and  Duquesnoy — are  independent,  and  the 
others  are  probably  drawing  upon  their  memories.  This 
gives  us  certainty. 

(b)  The  troops  were  French  guards.  This  is  affirmed 
by  the  Assemblee  nationale,  Bailly,  Young,  and  Virieu; 
the  first  two  witnesses,  the  last  two  probably  not  in 
Versailles  at  the  time.  There  is  no  indication  that  Bailly 
was  dependent  upon  the  Assemblee  nationale  at  this  point, 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  Young  and  Virieu,  moving 
in  different  circles,  would  draw  their  information  from 
different  sources,  none  of  which,  it  is  probable,  was 
Bailly  or  the  Assemblee  nationale.  The  balance  here 
trembles  uncertainly  between  high  probability  and  cer- 
tainty, inclining  toward  certainty. 

(c)  Some  of  the  guards  were  Swiss,  affirmed  by  Virieu, 
who  was  not  a  witness.  It  may  be  true  that  there  were 
Swiss  guards  in  Versailles,  but  we  can  only  say  "it  is 
probable  that  some  of  the  guards  were  Swiss." 

334 


Appendix 

(d)  No  statement  as  to  numbers. 

(e)  Hall  probably  guarded  by  troops  before  eight  in  the 
morning.  Four  of  the  sources  make  affirmations  concern- 
ing the  time  when  the  troops  were  in  position  before  the 
hall.  The  Proces-verbal  affirms  they  were  there  when 
the  president  and  deputies  arrived  at  nine  o'clock;  the 
Point  du  jour  states  that  it  was  "a  very  early  hour," 
evidently  earlier  than  nine;  the  Assemblee  nationale  as- 
serts that  the  deputies  "on  their  way  ...  at  the  hour  in- 
dicated," found  the  troops  at  the  hall,  or  as  early  as  eight, 
the  hour  indicated  the  day  before;  Bailly  (page  37,  lines 
13-23)  says  he  learned  at  half  past  six  that  the  hall  was 
closed,  and  having  sent  a  messenger  to  the  hall,  he  was 
told,  on  his  return,  probably  half  an  hour  later — Bailly 
lodged  about  ten  minutes  walk  from  the  hall — that  the 
hall  "was  surrounded  by  French  guards."  In  addition 
to  these  affirmations,  which  point  to  an  hour  as  early 
as  seven  o'clock,  at  least,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  assembly  adjourned  the  day  before  to  meet  at  eight 
on  the  20th.  This  fact  would  be  known  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  it  would  certainly  get  its  troops  to  the  hall 
before  the  deputies  got  there — that  is,  some  time  before 
eight.  Here  is  another  case  of  high  degree  of  probability 
without  absolute  certainty. 

(f)  The  hall  was  closed  to  the  public  and  deputies,  affirmed 
or  implied  by  all  the  witnesses  and  by  Young  and  Virieu. 

3.  Grouping  the  facts.     Synthesis. 

I.  Deputies  excluded  from  their  hall. 

A.  Hall  closed.  Point  du  jour,  23,  27;  Mounier,  56, 

10;  Rabaut,  60,  14;  Virieu,  62,  2. 

B.  Guarded  by  troops.  Proces-verbal,  18,  7;    Point  du  jour, 

23,  27;  Assemblee  nationale,  30,  4; 
Bailly,  37,  21;  Duquesnoy,  49,  15; 
Young,  53,  4;  Mounier,  56,  4;  Ra- 
baut, 60,  14;  Virieu,  62,  2. 

335 


The  French  Revolution 

i.  No  statement  of  number. 

2.  French  guards.  Assemblee  nationale,  30,  4;    Bailly, 

37,  21;  Young,  53,  4;   Virieu,  62,  2. 

3.  Swiss  guards.  Virieu,  62,  2. 
C.  Troops  in  position  before 

eight  in  the  morning. 

1.  In  position  early.  Bailly,  37,  13-22;  Point  dujour,  23, 

21. 

2.  Before  eight.  Assemblee  nationale,  29,  14;    Bailly, 

37,  13-23- 

3.  Probably  as  early  as    Bailly,  37,    13-23;    Point  du  jour, 

seven.  23,  21. 

4.  Exposition.  The  exposition  expresses  in  connected 
narrative  what  has  already  been  displayed  in  the  outline. 
It  differs  from  pure  literature  in  two  ways:  (1)  It  must 
always  reflect  the  value  of  the  evidence  and  (2)  it  must  be 
accompanied  by  notes  containing  references  to  the  sources 
and  discussions  of  critical  points  in  the  evidence.  Better  re- 
sults have  been  obtained  by  developing  the  study  episode  by 
episode  than  by  writing  the  narrative  only  after  the  whole 
outline  has  been  made.  Unity  and  continuity  can  be  ob- 
tained by  keeping  the  growing  outline  constantly  in  view 
and  by  rereading  the  parts  of  the  exposition  already 
written  before  adding  to  them.  After  the  entire  subject 
has  been  written  up  chronologically,  it  should  be  copied. 
This  gives  an  opportunity  for  improvement  in  form,  when 
the  pupil  has  the  whole  subject  before  him  and  is  thorough- 
ly familiar  with  the  matter. 

In  the  following  paragraph  is  an  example  of  exposition, 
showing  (1)  the  distinction  that  should  be  made  between 
certainty  and  probability — making  the  text  "reflect  the 
value  of  the  evidence  ";  (2)  the  position  of  the  figures  in 
the  text  referring  to  notes ;  (3)  the  arrangement  of  the  notes 
on  the  page  facing  the  narrative;  and  (4)  the  discussion  of 
the  evidence  in  the  notes.  It  is  wise  to  leave  the  back  of 
these  sheets  blank. 


NOTES 


The  French   Revolution 


NOTES 

i.  Point  du  jour,  23,  27;  Mounier,  56,  10;  Rabaut,  60, 
14;  Virieu,  62,  2;  implied  by  the  other  witnesses. 

2.  Proces-verbal,  18,  7;  Point  du  jour,  23,  27;  Assem- 
ble nationale,  30,  4;  Bailly,  37,  21;  Duquesnoy,  49,  15; 
Young,  53,  4;  Mounier,  56,  4;  Rabaut,  60,  14;  Virieu, 
62,  2.  The  Proces-verbal,  AssembUe  nationale,  and  Du- 
quesnoy are  independent. 

3.  Assemblee  nationale,  30,  4;  Bailly,  37,  21;  Young, 
53,  4;  Virieu,  62,  2.  Bailly  and  the  Assemblee  nationale 
are  evidently  independent  here. 

4.  Virieu,  62,  2. 

5.  Bailly,  37,  13-22;  Point  du  jour,  23,  21.  Evidently 
independent  on  this  point. 

6.  Assemblee  nationale,  29,  14;  Bailly,  37,  13-23.  Inde- 
pendent here. 

7.  Proces-verbal,  18,  20;  Bailly,  39,  7.  The  Proces- 
verbal  of  the  19th  and  Bailly's  note  of  the  morning  of  the 
20th,  copied  by  Bailly  from  the  Proces-verbal  of  the  20th, 
are  independent. 

8.  Bailly,  37,  13-23.  If  Bailly's  memory  is  to  be  trust- 
ed, he  knew  at  about  seven  o'clock  that  there  were  troops 
at  the  hall.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  assembly 
adjourned  the  day  before  to  meet  at  eight  on  the  20th. 
This  fact  would  be  known  to  the  government,  and  it 
would  certainly  get  its  troops  to  the  hall  "at  an  early 
hour,"  some  time  before  the  deputies  arrived. 

338 


Appendix 


EXPOSITION 


On  the  morning  of  June  20th  the  hall  of  the  estates  was 
closed  to  the  public  and  to  the  deputies.1  The  en- 
trance was  guarded  by  troops2  composed  of  French3 
and,  probably,  some  Swiss  guards.4  How  large  a  body 
of  troops  was  employed  it  is  impossible  to  state.  They 
were  evidently  in  position  early  in  the  morning,5  be- 
fore eight  o'clock,6  the  hour  when  the  assembly  was  to 
open,7  and  probably  as  early  as  seven.8 


^^»  I  <w>  f 


IU     JUIDf 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


